By BETH CHAPMAN / Community Columnist

Community Grief Support Services (CGSS) has been in the business of helping people on their grief journeys for the past 16 years.

Located in Homewood, they are now branching out and have chosen Shelby County as one of the places that are ideal for doing so.

Free grief support groups will be held each week on Monday evenings for 10 consecutive weeks from 6-7:45 p.m. to accommodate the schedules of working people. The dates are Sept. 10 to Nov. 12 at the Shelby County Instructional Center, 601 First Street South and U.S. 31 in Alabaster.

All adults who have suffered the loss of someone they love are welcome to attend. Parents who have lost adult children, adult children who have lost their parents or siblings are a few of the examples of people who attend CGSS grief groups.

CGSS offers professional counselor-led grief education, grief counseling and support groups at no cost to their attendees. There is nowhere else that professional grief services can be found for free for such an extended period of time in the Shelby County community.

CGSS serves the Greater Birmingham community and is glad to be reaching out to all those in Shelby County and surrounding areas that may need their help. If you are grieving the death of a loved one, join the new free North Shelby County Grief Support Group. The groups offer a safe and confidential place where you can work through your grief with others facing the challenges and pain of loss.

Thanks to the donations of many individuals and corporations CGSS can continue to provide the invaluable services they offer at no charge to their participants.

“It is truly a great program that affords people an opportunity to share and learn from others who have experienced and are working through their losses,” said Robby Owens, CGSS Board President. “We look forward to extending our services and starting this new group in Shelby County.”

To schedule an intake appointment, call 870-8667 or for more information you can visit their website at Communitygriefsupport.org.

 

Beth Chapman, Alabama’s secretary of state, is a Shelby County resident and writes a weekly column for the Shelby County Reporter. You can reach her at bethchapman@bellsouth.net.