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Compassionate Friends of Saipan gives hope
Now on its seventh year, the Compassionate Friends of Saipan continues to provide hope, comfort, and understanding to grieving families who have lost a loved one
Jill Derickson, founder of the Compassionate Friends chapter on Saipan, said that they are an organization that supports grieving families that go through a difficult time.
“I’d like to think that we provide hope to people who are 10, 20 years down the road…It is truly horrible and difficult when you lose a family member,” she said. “At Compassionate Friends, we say it’s not always going to be this painful and this bad. We think of it as a wound that is healing. You are never going to get over it, you are always going to have a scar but you will be able to learn to live with it.”
According to Derickson, Compassionate Friends of Saipan is a worldwide organization.
“Compassionate Friends of Saipan became the official chapter of the Compassionate Friends national about a year after we held our first candle-lighting in December 2012 and we started holding grief support meetings once a month,” she said.
“The stories and experiences of people who come to our meetings are private and confidential. People are welcome and not forced to talk. It truly helps to know that a grieving family member is able to talk and even just listen to others who have been through it because that helps in the healing process,” she added.
The 6th Annual Candle Lighting Remembrance Program was held last Dec. 10 and 100 candles were lit by family members to honor the memories of their loved ones.
“Aside from lighting candles, we prepare a slide show, which is the touching part of the event,” she added.
The Compassionate Friend of Saipan meets every first Thursday of the month.
“I think there’s a lot of pain out there and this support group helps them. It’s not going to fix the situation but people can feel less alone. We emphasize that one need not walk alone,” Derickson said.
The Compassionate Friends of Saipan can be reached through Derickson at (670) 989-9821 and Donna Krum at (670) 783-1900.
