Grief support organizations
Real places to land — by phone, by chat, in a circle, on a screen. Organized by the loss you are carrying. No book recommendations on this page (those live here).
By the loss you are carrying
Nonprofits and peer-support communities organized by the kind of loss they hold. Most offer free support groups, virtual and in-person.
Loss of a parent
Adoption & relinquishment
Loss of a spouse or partner
Nonprofit & community
Widowed peer support — regional chapters, Camp Widow, online groups for widows and widowers of any orientation, age, or cause of death.
Visit →Nonprofit
Chapters across the U.S. — peer-led monthly meetings and an online community for widowed women.
Visit →Community
Nora McInerny's community for widowed people too young to be widows. Honest, funny, no platitudes allowed.
Visit →Loss of a child
Nonprofit & chapters
The largest peer-support organization for bereaved parents, siblings, and grandparents. Chapters in every U.S. state.
Visit →Nonprofit
Founded by Joanne Cacciatore. For families grieving the death of a child of any age, with research-grounded support.
Visit →Directory
Directory of grief programs and camps for children, families, and grieving siblings across the U.S.
Visit →Hotline & support
For families grieving SIDS, stillbirth, and infant loss. 24/7 grief support hotline at 1-800-221-7437.
Visit →Free remembrance photography
Volunteer photographers offer free remembrance portraits to families experiencing stillbirth or infant loss.
Visit →Support groups
In-person and virtual support groups for families after miscarriage, stillbirth, and early infant death.
Visit →Therapist & bereaved mother · Los Angeles
A licensed therapist and author whose son Sammy died of a fentanyl-laced pill in 2021. Her grief offering speaks directly to bereaved parents in the after.
Visit →Sibling loss
Nonprofit & community
For surviving twins of any age, after the loss of a twin or multiple. Conferences, peer matches, regional events.
Visit →For young adults
A national network for young adult grievers — including those who lost a sibling. Local chapters and online groups.
Visit →Loss to suicide
Nonprofit & support groups
Survivor Day events, support group finder, Healing Conversations one-on-one support from trained suicide-loss survivors.
Visit →Online community
Moderated 24/7 online support forum specifically for those who have lost a loved one to suicide.
Visit →Peer-led groups
Peer-led support groups around the country, founded by a suicide-loss survivor in 1980.
Visit →Gun violence & homicide loss
Angela lost her father to gun violence in 1988. There is a separate, deeper page dedicated to gun violence survivors with her personal note and the Giffords toolkit she helped create. Visit the gun violence survivors page →
Survivor-founded nonprofit
Sandy and Lonnie Phillips founded this after their daughter was killed at Aurora. Rapid Response teams that show up for the newly bereaved, anywhere in the U.S. Co-created the Giffords survivor toolkit Angela contributed to.
Visit →Victim assistance
Crisis response and resources for survivors of violent crime, including homicide-loss families.
Visit →Hotline
National peer-support nonprofit for family members of homicide victims. Support groups in every U.S. region.
Visit →Loss to addiction or overdose
Support & resources
Peer support and resources for families and loved ones grieving an overdose death. Online groups and individual support.
Visit →Community
In-person and virtual support groups specifically for those grieving a loss to substance use.
Visit →Military loss
For grieving children & teens
Grief centers, camps, and programs built specifically for children, teens, and their caregivers.
Nonprofit & resources
The leading children's grief center in the U.S. Free peer-support groups in Portland, OR; resources and trained-provider directory for everyone else.
Visit →Free grief camp
Free weekend grief camp for kids ages 6–17 who have lost a loved one. The largest network of children's bereavement camps in the U.S.
Visit →Free grief camp
Free one-week summer camp for grieving kids — pairs traditional camp with grief programming. Multiple locations.
Visit →Free grief camp
Free weekend bereavement camps for children ages 7–17 around the U.S. Year-round programs alongside.
Visit →Free grief camp
Free week-long camp for kids who have lost a family member to suicide. Year-round community for camper alumni.
Visit →Free grief camp
Free weekend programs for the children of fallen military service members, paired with a Military Mentor.
Visit →Communities & online support
For when you cannot get to an in-person group, or you want company at 2 a.m.
Free · from Angela
My own free community. Circles organized by the loss you are carrying — mother loss, father loss, child loss, pet loss, and more.
Join →Online magazine & community
Rebecca Soffer's community for candid conversations about grief, especially for grievers in their twenties to fifties.
Visit →Online classes & writing
Megan Devine's home for Writing Your Grief courses, articles, and a podcast. The original anti-platitude grief space.
Visit →Peer-led tables
For 20s and 30s grievers. Small peer-led dinner groups in cities across the country and online.
Visit →Educational
Eleanor Haley and Litsa Williams' deeply written grief blog. Reliable, evidence-informed, accessible.
Visit →Online community
Memorial pages and online support; also runs Actively Moving Forward (AMF) for young adult grievers.
Visit →Articles & podcast
Dr. Gloria Horsley's longtime grief-resource site, with personal essays from bereaved people across the spectrum of loss.
Visit →In-person groups
Faith-based 13-week grief groups, hosted at churches across the U.S. and Canada. Find a group near you.
Visit →For pet loss
Hotlines and communities that take pet loss seriously.
Nonprofit, chat support
Free online grief chat groups, articles, and a directory of pet-loss counselors. The leading nonprofit in this space.
Visit →Support & education
The in-home pet hospice and euthanasia network also offers grief articles, an online community, and access to pet-loss professionals.
Visit →Hotline
Free phone support for grieving pet owners: 1-877-474-3310. Articles on memorializing your pet and helping children cope.
Visit →Veterinary hotline
A toll-free grief hotline staffed by trained veterinary social workers: 1-855-955-1808.
Visit →End-of-life planning
Death doulas, planning platforms, and conversation guides for the work of dying well.
Death doula training & support
Alua Arthur's organization for end-of-life support — death doula training, planning resources, and her remarkable presence.
Visit →Planning platform
Free end-of-life planning tools — wishes, paperwork, what to do when someone dies. Useful for anyone, whatever your relationship to death.
Visit →Annual conference
A movement to make end of life a human experience, not a medical one. Annual conference plus a rich archive of talks.
Visit →Conversation guide
Michael Hebb's framework for having the most important conversation we never have. Builds you a custom dinner-conversation script.
Visit →Palliative consultations
BJ Miller's clinic — palliative-care consultations for people living with serious illness, and the people who love them.
Visit →Resources & education
A starting place for understanding hospice care, finding a hospice, and supporting a grieving family member.
Visit →A separate page lists the grief books I most often put in people's hands — organized the same way, by the loss you are carrying.
Grief Books by Loss →