Testimonials
At Lost & Found, there is no right or wrong way to grieve. Here you will find other people your age who will listen and may understand how you feel. Talking to others experiencing a similar situation will make you feel better.
The comments below are from people of different ages who have participated in Lost & Found grief support groups:
Children
- "If your Dad died you can say something about him and the kids listen to you talk. It makes me feel older when I come to Lost & found. I would tell a friend that Lost & Found is a good place if your daddy dies."
- “I lost my dad in April of 2003… I was angry because I thought my dad purposefully left me, so I got really angry. I could talk about that at Lost & Found.”
- "I made lots of good friends at Lost & Found and they helped me a lot."
- " I liked making the memory box about my mom. It made me feel like I will always remember her."
Teens
- This is what a 15-year-old high school student said after his father died from suicide:
“It’s like embarrassing kind of to even talk about. It makes me mad almost at my dad, but I’m sad too because I can’t see or talk to him anymore. I don’t like to talk about it because no one knows what to say to me and mostly what they do say is like, whatever. I never talk about it with my mom because she gets upset and then I feel bad that I brought it up.” - "No one understands what I’m going through. There is no one I can talk to about this until I come to Lost & Found."
- "At Lost & Found, you don't have to act strong for your friends, your mom, or anyone else. You can just let your feelings show."
- "I was afraid they would make me talk about my feelings, but they don't make you talk about anything you don't feel comfortable about. Eventually, you do talk about your feelings because you can trust the people here."
- "I’m different from everyone else at school, but at Lost & Found, all the kids have had a death in their families, so in that way we're all alike. It's cool to be able to talk to people who get it, or to just be left alone if that's what you need that day."
- "I hate when people act like I should 'get over it.' We talk about that here. And we talk about the other things people say who don't really understand."
Parents
- “It worked out great because it helped me just as much as it did Max. I think she’d be happy that I brought Max here, and that I came. I was very hard and numb, but this place softened me up. She’ll always be missed…its been almost four years. That’s one thing I learned down here: There’s no time table for grief, everybody’s different.”
- “Lost and Found is about remembering. And too many times in the grieving process you bury and cover up because its too painful, and what Lost and Found facilitates for you is to learn and remember and survive remembering. “
- "Lost & Found has made all the difference in the world At least for the time we spend at Lost & Found the kids feel normal again"
- “The thing about L&F is that outside of these walls you get a lot of sympathy, but inside these walls you get empathy.”
- "I have been bringing my two boys (ages 9 and 10) to Lost & Found for eleven months since the death of their dad. At first they resisted coming here because they thought it would be too uncomfortable and sad. Now, they ask how long until the next time we can go to Lost & Found, and when we pull in the parking lot they dash in to see their friends and get started in the group. It is now a very comfortableplace for them to be because they are accepted and understood...It is difficult enough just navigating childhood without this sort of obstacle and Lost & Found is helping me and my children find a path through this mine field."
Contact Lost & Found to learn how you can meet other families experiencing the loss of a loved one. 417-865-9998