COLD LAKE - During the City of Cold Lake council meeting held on Dec. 12 in Cold Lake, Nola Gee, a founding member of the Lakeland/Cold Lake chapter of The Compassionate Friends organization, was invited to raise awareness about the group.
At its core, The Compassionate Friends group exists to embrace families across the spectrum of grief, irrespective of a child's age or the cause of their passing. Whether the loss occurred in infancy, childhood, or adulthood, due to illness, accident, or any other cause, the organization extends its hand in friendship and solidarity, according to information from the organization.
“The Compassionate Friends actually began in Coventry, England, not too long ago, but it’s an international non-profit peer organization with the primary purpose to aid in the positive reconciliation of grief and physical and emotional health of parents and their surviving children,” explained Gee.
After finding the initiative online, Gee brought the organization to Cold Lake in January 2023. To kickstart the endeavor, the organization mandated the involvement of three dedicated parents - Tracy Knowlton, Angela McDonald, and Cindy Wood. The group teamed up with Gee to lay the foundation of this compassionate community.
Gee pointed out a crucial distinction about their group, emphasizing that while they may not be medical professionals, they do offer a deeply personal connection as parents.
“We are not therapists, we are not counsellors, we are a parent-to-parent peer group.”
During her presentation, Gee expressed a sentiment shared by many in the group - a wish that no one else ever has to join this community.
She remarked, “It’s a group that nobody ever wants to join, that's for sure. And the truth of it is, I would rather we never have a new member.”
As she shared her presentation to council, she presented some statistics. With a heavy heart, Gee noted that, “Unfortunately, we went from four members to 16 members since I’ve made this PowerPoint.”
According to the Compassionate Friends’ website, the chapter extends its support beyond physical meetings. It offers various resources, including online forums, literature, and personalized outreach, ensuring that individuals have access to guidance and understanding whenever they need it. From coping strategies, to navigating the complexities of grief during special occasions, the organization equips its members with the tools they need to navigate the challenging journey.
“Every time we have a new parent that comes to us, which we wish never happened, we provide them with a journal so it will assist them in their grief process, especially in the first year,” explains Gee.
The group’s sole aspiration is to extend a guiding hand along someone else's path to healing. "Ultimately, we would hope that by meeting together, we can transform the pain of grief that they are going through into some sort of elixir of hope,” added Gee.
This is the first Compassionate Friends organization that has been started in the Lakeland region.
“We are the closest chapter from here to Saskatoon and here and Sherwood Park,” Gee mentioned.
The group currently has 13 regularly participating members, and the meetings have been attended by a total of 67 people. “We meet every first and third Tuesday of the month... from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.,” said Gee. The meetings are located at The Wing 784 Building, 5319 48 Ave.
Gee recognizes that many individuals in the area might still be unaware of the group’s existence and the support it offers.
“We realize that there are still many in the area that don’t even know that we exist. There are many hurting people out there.”
She explained one specific situation that she knows of where members of the community lost a child about seven years ago, and the parents became cut off from the community, “suffering permanent mental illness. And we want that not to keep happening.”
As the meeting concluded, Coun. Adele Richardson offered her support to Gee in promoting the Compassionate Friends program, recognizing its potential to benefit those in need at the hospital.
To access the support offered by this organization, individuals can reach out to Nola Gee directly at 780-241-0576 or via email at [email protected].
