November 5, 2025 • 17 mins
Sheila Munafo-Kanasa returns for an update on her grief group, Companions on a Journey in Cincinnati, which provides free counseling services for those who've lost loved ones. Their fundraising breaking is November 12, 2025.
COJ Facebook
COJ Breakfast Fundraiser Nov. 12, 2025
Companions on a Journey Grief Support, Inc.
8857 Cincinnati Dayton Rd. Suite #002
West Chester, OH 45069
513-870-9108
info@companionsonajourney.org
Monday-Thursday, 9:00am-3pm
COJ Facebook
COJ Breakfast Fundraiser Nov. 12, 2025
Companions on a Journey Grief Support, Inc.
8857 Cincinnati Dayton Rd. Suite #002
West Chester, OH 45069
513-870-9108
info@companionsonajourney.org
Monday-Thursday, 9:00am-3pm
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
This week on iHeart Sensey.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
I'm Sandy Collins. We're here each week to talk about
tri State life, offering the people, places and things making
a difference. My first guest today is from Companions on
a Journey Sheila Monifo Canassim.
Speaker 3 (00:16):
After his death, it was just like I need to
put my own oxit you mask on and I needed
to be the best mother that I could be to
my three children.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
She started a nonprofit that helps tristators who seek comfort
for grief at no cost. And later in part two,
we're talking about true crime. It's huge upswinging and the
side effects that can interfere with relationships and mental health.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Now, something really small can happen and a can sette
a person off.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Megan Schrance as a therapist from the Linder Center of Hope.
She breaks it all down for us with tips on
how to recognize by curious trauma, in ways to avoid
it and heal it. Now on iHeart Sensey with Sandy Collins, Well,
you may have heard the tragic story of fifteen year
old Dylan Strawn, Ler high school student recently killed in
a hit and run. While his friends are reeling, his
(01:05):
family is dealing with double grief. You see, Dylan lost
his mother in twenty seventeen and had joined a grief
support group in high school that we've highlighted on this show,
only to lose his own life, and now his peers
in the group are morning his death today. My guest
is the founder of that group, which serves those dealing
with grief companions. On a journey, I caught up with
(01:26):
Sheila MONIFOCNASA on the same day that group held a
commemoration meeting, a moment that felt especially poignant.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
You know, when you've had a student that's died, you know,
it not only just affects those friends, but affects all
the kids from our grief group. Because Dylan had been
a part of our grief group and was with us
last month, you know, he had to have to suffered
the death of his mom, and so not only did
the kids have somebody that was missing from their group,
(01:55):
but then it also triggers their own grief from the
group that they've had with their with their personal losses,
you know. And you know when we talk about one
in ten children will suffer the depth of a parent
or a sibling, I mean, this does not count, you know,
when friends die, or grandparents or aunts and uncles. So
and today's topic was talking about these spirals feelings that
(02:19):
we feel, and so it was really a perfect topic
for today. But you have to take a few turtday afterwards,
you know, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Well, and how I don't know if ironic is the
right word, but when I read that he had joined
Companions on a Journey in high school to deal with
his own grief.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Did he join as a freshman or a sophomore?
Speaker 3 (02:39):
Do you remember he was a sophomore, So he joined
when he was a freshman.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
How amazing that he had that group to lean on,
and now his friends can lean on the group and
try to make sense of this senseless loss.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
Before Dylan had.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
Died, we had contact to each other to talk about
your fundraiser coming up in November, because you're.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
Such a good friend to the show, and we wanted.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
To make sure folks realized that they had this opportunity
to not only help Companions on a Journey, but also
to get help themselves. So let's kind of go back
to the beginning, if you would, Sheila, and let's talk
about why you started Companions.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
On a Journey. Well, it was actually thirty two years
ago that my first husband bent. He had been diagnosed
at twenty nine and died at thirty nine. And I
had been in sales for Procter and Gambell and they
were very gracious that I could do a reduce workload.
But after his death, it was just like I needed
to put my own oxygen mask on and I needed
(03:42):
to be the best mother that I could be to
my three children, and I needed to honor my grief.
And I think a lot of times in life were
so busy, but it really slowed me down to be
present to that present moment, even before he died, you know,
with his illness for ten years, but it really afterwards
it's like, Okay, what I did in the very beginning
(04:03):
with his cancer, I need really now do with our grief,
you know. And I had to learn everything that I
could about it. So I took it the prayer ask
God who who I was and what I was supposed
to be when I grew up, because you really do
feel like you're having to discover yourself when somebody that
significant dies. And immediately I got one day, you'll have
(04:24):
a beream in center, And I thought, what is that
you know, back in you know, ninety three, you know,
we didn't have our laptop tour. We could just go
ahead and do a search and find out what bereaban is.
The English derivative abreaft is robbed, and I truly felt robbed.
I wanted my husband to grow old with me. I
wanted him to see a children raise and to see
(04:45):
them get married, and you know, I have their children
and just to grow old together. So I said to
our Lord, I need to put my oxyuture map on first,
and I have to do my own grief work, and
I have to learn about this grief. So I really
started traveling, you know. It first started in Cincinnati, and
then had a mentor in grief, and he said, here
(05:05):
are the organizations and the places where you can be
trained to do the work that you're being called to do.
And in the meantime, a year later, I found a
support group, and then I met a person in that
support group that I thought he's the male counterpart, and
a year later we ended up getting married. And here
we are thirty years later, and we both are giving
(05:27):
back because you know, out of our pain has come
our purpose and passion. In two thousand, my son graduated
one of them from high school and he said, mom,
what you do for adults, you need to do for kids.
And so Pat Buckley and myself we began our Teens
in Grief program in the schools and it's ongoing. So
(05:48):
our programs are different than other people's programs. We know
that grief is ongoing, that there's not a beginning and
an end, and during all the mildstones in life, you
can be triggered. So like for children, you know, they're
graduating from sixth grade to you know, junior high, and
from junior high to high school, and from high school
(06:09):
playing sports and learning how to drive, and going on
their homecomings and their proms. All these things are going
to brief you know, emotions, and then they graduate in
chooser college or they end up meeting the next person.
So for me, that calling was I could see all
that because those were the grief moments that I was
(06:29):
carrying with me during my grief, knowing these are the
moments that my husband's not going to be there for
my children. And so in doing that, I knew that
I had to create something that was ongoing. We do
that not only for you know, our children and teens
in the schools through our Mending Hearts for grieving children
teams and families, as well as our adult specific programs. Right,
(06:53):
it's just important that power of connection.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Absolutely, You've got groups for young widows, men who are
in grief, who've lost their wives I saw. I don't
know if this was the last time we had it,
but you have a virtual grief support group now, which
is very handy brief parents. And then also the type
of death also makes a difference, and you have a
(07:17):
specific suicide loss group to address those different kinds of
feelings that you're going through when you lose someone.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
We do, we do, and right now we're exploring to
be able to have a support group for those who
have had a loved one that has died from an overdose,
because we know that's another specific area that a lot
of times in the specific things like having the bereed
parents and having the hope and healing after suicide and
having the widowed people all together with people that have
(07:48):
had similar losses, there truly is a power of connection.
It really gives you the strength to be able to
communicate and say out loud, here's what I'm going through,
here's the feelings I feel hollow, you know, I feel lost,
I feel confused, I feel guilty, you know, and we
(08:08):
not only hear that in the adult groups. I just
left groups with teenagers that are expressing those feelings, but
they don't share it with the people closest to them,
sometimes because they don't want to bring them down, or
they're afraid that they're going to tumble down so low
that they're not going to spring back up. But yet
when they're in a group of peers, they can share that.
(08:30):
And then we give them, you know, grief resources, and
we talk about helpful ways, and we invite everybody else
to share what helps you through these grief journeys. It
takes a village, you know, it takes many people, you know, parents, siblings,
you know. It might be a bus driver, it could
be somebody that works at school. It could be their
grief group, it could be a friend. Because there's so
(08:52):
many different parts that we need, right you know, to
help us to keep going.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
If you just popped in on Sandy Collins, this is
iHeart Sinse and my guest they is Sheila Monifo Canasa.
She is the founder of Companions on a Journey, a
nonprofit group that provides grief counseling at no cost to
the bereaved to help them overcome and regain their lives.
The idea of getting into a support group for grief, though,
(09:18):
may be new to people. So you have an introductory
one time event where you can explain to people what's
this group about, why do you need companionship in this time,
and what can you expect, what is expected of you.
And you've got another one coming up here. It's called
starting the journey understanding grief before the support group.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
Do you want to go into that a little bit there.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
Sheila, Yeah, we really realize that when you're coming into
a support group for the first time, many of the
people that in a support group, especially because it is ongoing,
you know, may be able to have made bonds with people,
friendships with people, and be happy when they're going into
the group. Where when you're walking into that first time,
(10:01):
you're just like all these feelings of emotion, it's it's scary,
it's intimidating, and so we wanted to, you know, to
just be able to meet them where they're at on
their journey, allow them to share for the first time
their story, because that in itself is very important for
a grieving person. And then to talk about what some
(10:22):
of the feelings and emotions are and we talk about
how it affects us spiritually, mentally and emotionally, and you know,
and so when we're able to talk about that, it's like, oh,
I'm not losing my mind, because a lot of times
you do. And then it's like, oh, okay, well let
me just pick a breath, and yes, now I'm ready.
I want to walk through that door for the first time.
(10:44):
And it just makes it easier when they know what
to expect. I mean, you can talk over the phone
and tell a person that, but when you can meet
in person. It really has been very well received. Where
we've done this twice now we do it once a month,
the second Monday of the month, and it has been
very well received and a lot of grief is shared.
(11:06):
I mean, it's a lot to share your grief story
for the first time and stuff. But yes, we've had
a lot of success with that because when you can
be in a group with other people who are new
on their journey, it helps them to know that they're
not alone. But really sharing their story for the first time,
it really is helpful to be able to do that
(11:26):
in that type of setting, so that then when they
move into the next setting and know what to expect,
it can be less intimidating and they want to be
a part of it and stuff. So we're very pleased
with being able to offer this and we've had a
lot of people saying, I am so glad that I
got to do that.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
That's great starting the journey understanding grief before support group.
That's just the beginning of what they can do for
you at Companions on a Journey. Let's talk about the
fundraiser coming up. It's a breakfast fundraiser in November to
help put some more money back in the coffers so
that you can pay for the professionals that you use
and some of the needs that you met. So let's
(12:06):
let's hear all about where we can get tickets and
where it's going to be.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
So our breakfast fundraiser is on November twelfth. It's Morning
of Hope and it's a breakfast fundraiser. You can buy
tickets on our website at www dot Companions on a
Journey dot org, or you can call our office at
five one three eight seven zero nine to one zero
eight either way. I mean, if anybody just reaches out
(12:31):
that way, it's fine. But you know, our Breakfast fundraiser,
when you go to it, you're going to meet several
people that have gone through our program. They're going to
share their story, but we also have a few videos
that will share again their grief journey and also share
the importance of companions on a journey. All of our
services are at no cost to the bereaved, and we
(12:51):
want it to stay that way. However, we know, as
you said, there is a cost, you know, for a
breathing specialist. Each month, we have a monthly newsletters for
our adults that go through the programs. We have them
for the parents that have children in our school programs.
We have them for the counselors that are in these
school programs and stuff. So we really try to educate
(13:13):
as much as what we can as well. But all
those services are really at no cost to the breed
and so this Breakfast Sundraiser is really important, and we
do it in the month of November because it's Child
Grief Awareness Month and one in ten children again will
lose the death of a parent who are sibling, you know,
and it's really important for us to be able to
(13:35):
be present and genuine and authentic to the children that
we care for, you know, whether it's a teacher, whether
it's a counselor or a parent. And so we take
this time in November to be able to be present
to that child, to inform and educate, but also too
to thank the people that care for our students that
are grieving. You know. I know a lot of parents
(13:57):
will ask us what can we do when they hear
at the breakfast, you know, some of the children and
teens talking, I think they're going to realize, Okay, this
is what I can do. This is what my child's
going through. Because sometimes children are afraid to share with
their parents what they're going through because the parents are
going through something, you know, you know. So I think
(14:18):
it's yeah, they really are, you know, And so we
have to validate all feelings. There's no right or wrong
way to grieve. And I think through a breakfast Sundraiser,
you're going to find that it's just a great morning,
and I think you walk away, you'll know what companions
on the journey is doing, who also will empower others
to be able to support the breath because nobody can
(14:41):
escape death. Everybody is going to encounter death at some
point in their life. Some of those deaths that are
going to be more devastating than others. But we're going
to have people around us that we want to support,
and so I think that you'll walk away with key
points to be able to do that. We want them
to share what they're going through. We don't want to
(15:02):
say you have to be strong, because they're going to
suppress those feelings and then those feelings can go into depression.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
So we really say the wrong thing.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
It's so easy if you don't have any any words
in your pocket ready to go when these things happen,
especially when you're a younger person and you've not experienced
death before. You can really compound the damage if you will,
by saying the wrong things. So I'm glad you're there
to put those words and make them available for folks
that they can better help those who are bereaved in
(15:32):
their life. Where is the breakfast going to be?
Speaker 3 (15:36):
The breakfast fundraiser is going to be at the Savannah
Center in Westchester, Ohio. We'll check in at eight o'clock.
In between eight and eight thirty, we will be serving breakfast.
The program will begin at eight thirty and it'll be
done by nine thirty. We just hope that more people
come to this. Each year, we've grown in attendance because
(15:57):
we feel we really want no person and to greet alone.
So the more that we can educate people and support them,
I think we're going to end up in a world
like that, because we truly need support when we're grieving
the death of a loved one, and we want people
to find that hope, strength and healing. It's so important.
Speaker 1 (16:19):
Sheila, thanks so much for your time today. I will
actually see you there.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
I will be there so I will get to see
you in person and meet some of the folks that
we've spoken to over the couple of years here that
we've been in contact, and I hope to encourage others
to come out and join us for the Companions on
a Journey Morning of Hope Breakfast fundraiser, November the twelve.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
November twelfth, All right, Sheila, we'll see you there. Thank you.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
I appreciate you well, Sandy, I appreciate you.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
Up next, if you like true crime, you'll want to
hear this.
Speaker 3 (16:53):
We think about symptoms of post traumatic stress or vicarious trauma.
You see the world in a different way afterwards.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
That's next on my heart since
This week on iHeart Sensey.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
I'm Sandy Collins. We're here each week to talk about
tri State life, offering the people, places and things making
a difference. My first guest today is from Companions on
a Journey Sheila Monifo Canassim.
Speaker 3 (00:16):
After his death, it was just like I need to
put my own oxit you mask on and I needed
to be the best mother that I could be to
my three children.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
She started a nonprofit that helps tristators who seek comfort
for grief at no cost. And later in part two,
we're talking about true crime. It's huge upswinging and the
side effects that can interfere with relationships and mental health.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Now, something really small can happen and a can sette
a person off.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Megan Schrance as a therapist from the Linder Center of Hope.
She breaks it all down for us with tips on
how to recognize by curious trauma, in ways to avoid
it and heal it. Now on iHeart Sensey with Sandy Collins, Well,
you may have heard the tragic story of fifteen year
old Dylan Strawn, Ler high school student recently killed in
a hit and run. While his friends are reeling, his
(01:05):
family is dealing with double grief. You see, Dylan lost
his mother in twenty seventeen and had joined a grief
support group in high school that we've highlighted on this show,
only to lose his own life, and now his peers
in the group are morning his death today. My guest
is the founder of that group, which serves those dealing
with grief companions. On a journey, I caught up with
(01:26):
Sheila MONIFOCNASA on the same day that group held a
commemoration meeting, a moment that felt especially poignant.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
You know, when you've had a student that's died, you know,
it not only just affects those friends, but affects all
the kids from our grief group. Because Dylan had been
a part of our grief group and was with us
last month, you know, he had to have to suffered
the death of his mom, and so not only did
the kids have somebody that was missing from their group,
(01:55):
but then it also triggers their own grief from the
group that they've had with their with their personal losses,
you know. And you know when we talk about one
in ten children will suffer the depth of a parent
or a sibling, I mean, this does not count, you know,
when friends die, or grandparents or aunts and uncles. So
and today's topic was talking about these spirals feelings that
(02:19):
we feel, and so it was really a perfect topic
for today. But you have to take a few turtday afterwards,
you know, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Well, and how I don't know if ironic is the
right word, but when I read that he had joined
Companions on a Journey in high school to deal with
his own grief.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Did he join as a freshman or a sophomore?
Speaker 3 (02:39):
Do you remember he was a sophomore, So he joined
when he was a freshman.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
How amazing that he had that group to lean on,
and now his friends can lean on the group and
try to make sense of this senseless loss.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
Before Dylan had.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
Died, we had contact to each other to talk about
your fundraiser coming up in November, because you're.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
Such a good friend to the show, and we wanted.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
To make sure folks realized that they had this opportunity
to not only help Companions on a Journey, but also
to get help themselves. So let's kind of go back
to the beginning, if you would, Sheila, and let's talk
about why you started Companions.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
On a Journey. Well, it was actually thirty two years
ago that my first husband bent. He had been diagnosed
at twenty nine and died at thirty nine. And I
had been in sales for Procter and Gambell and they
were very gracious that I could do a reduce workload.
But after his death, it was just like I needed
to put my own oxygen mask on and I needed
(03:42):
to be the best mother that I could be to
my three children, and I needed to honor my grief.
And I think a lot of times in life were
so busy, but it really slowed me down to be
present to that present moment, even before he died, you know,
with his illness for ten years, but it really afterwards
it's like, Okay, what I did in the very beginning
(04:03):
with his cancer, I need really now do with our grief,
you know. And I had to learn everything that I
could about it. So I took it the prayer ask
God who who I was and what I was supposed
to be when I grew up, because you really do
feel like you're having to discover yourself when somebody that
significant dies. And immediately I got one day, you'll have
(04:24):
a beream in center, And I thought, what is that
you know, back in you know, ninety three, you know,
we didn't have our laptop tour. We could just go
ahead and do a search and find out what bereaban is.
The English derivative abreaft is robbed, and I truly felt robbed.
I wanted my husband to grow old with me. I
wanted him to see a children raise and to see
(04:45):
them get married, and you know, I have their children
and just to grow old together. So I said to
our Lord, I need to put my oxyuture map on first,
and I have to do my own grief work, and
I have to learn about this grief. So I really
started traveling, you know. It first started in Cincinnati, and
then had a mentor in grief, and he said, here
(05:05):
are the organizations and the places where you can be
trained to do the work that you're being called to do.
And in the meantime, a year later, I found a
support group, and then I met a person in that
support group that I thought he's the male counterpart, and
a year later we ended up getting married. And here
we are thirty years later, and we both are giving
(05:27):
back because you know, out of our pain has come
our purpose and passion. In two thousand, my son graduated
one of them from high school and he said, mom,
what you do for adults, you need to do for kids.
And so Pat Buckley and myself we began our Teens
in Grief program in the schools and it's ongoing. So
(05:48):
our programs are different than other people's programs. We know
that grief is ongoing, that there's not a beginning and
an end, and during all the mildstones in life, you
can be triggered. So like for children, you know, they're
graduating from sixth grade to you know, junior high, and
from junior high to high school, and from high school
(06:09):
playing sports and learning how to drive, and going on
their homecomings and their proms. All these things are going
to brief you know, emotions, and then they graduate in
chooser college or they end up meeting the next person.
So for me, that calling was I could see all
that because those were the grief moments that I was
(06:29):
carrying with me during my grief, knowing these are the
moments that my husband's not going to be there for
my children. And so in doing that, I knew that
I had to create something that was ongoing. We do
that not only for you know, our children and teens
in the schools through our Mending Hearts for grieving children
teams and families, as well as our adult specific programs. Right,
(06:53):
it's just important that power of connection.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Absolutely, You've got groups for young widows, men who are
in grief, who've lost their wives I saw. I don't
know if this was the last time we had it,
but you have a virtual grief support group now, which
is very handy brief parents. And then also the type
of death also makes a difference, and you have a
(07:17):
specific suicide loss group to address those different kinds of
feelings that you're going through when you lose someone.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
We do, we do, and right now we're exploring to
be able to have a support group for those who
have had a loved one that has died from an overdose,
because we know that's another specific area that a lot
of times in the specific things like having the bereed
parents and having the hope and healing after suicide and
having the widowed people all together with people that have
(07:48):
had similar losses, there truly is a power of connection.
It really gives you the strength to be able to
communicate and say out loud, here's what I'm going through,
here's the feelings I feel hollow, you know, I feel lost,
I feel confused, I feel guilty, you know, and we
(08:08):
not only hear that in the adult groups. I just
left groups with teenagers that are expressing those feelings, but
they don't share it with the people closest to them,
sometimes because they don't want to bring them down, or
they're afraid that they're going to tumble down so low
that they're not going to spring back up. But yet
when they're in a group of peers, they can share that.
(08:30):
And then we give them, you know, grief resources, and
we talk about helpful ways, and we invite everybody else
to share what helps you through these grief journeys. It
takes a village, you know, it takes many people, you know, parents, siblings,
you know. It might be a bus driver, it could
be somebody that works at school. It could be their
grief group, it could be a friend. Because there's so
(08:52):
many different parts that we need, right you know, to
help us to keep going.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
If you just popped in on Sandy Collins, this is
iHeart Sinse and my guest they is Sheila Monifo Canasa.
She is the founder of Companions on a Journey, a
nonprofit group that provides grief counseling at no cost to
the bereaved to help them overcome and regain their lives.
The idea of getting into a support group for grief, though,
(09:18):
may be new to people. So you have an introductory
one time event where you can explain to people what's
this group about, why do you need companionship in this time,
and what can you expect, what is expected of you.
And you've got another one coming up here. It's called
starting the journey understanding grief before the support group.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
Do you want to go into that a little bit there.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
Sheila, Yeah, we really realize that when you're coming into
a support group for the first time, many of the
people that in a support group, especially because it is ongoing,
you know, may be able to have made bonds with people,
friendships with people, and be happy when they're going into
the group. Where when you're walking into that first time,
(10:01):
you're just like all these feelings of emotion, it's it's scary,
it's intimidating, and so we wanted to, you know, to
just be able to meet them where they're at on
their journey, allow them to share for the first time
their story, because that in itself is very important for
a grieving person. And then to talk about what some
(10:22):
of the feelings and emotions are and we talk about
how it affects us spiritually, mentally and emotionally, and you know,
and so when we're able to talk about that, it's like, oh,
I'm not losing my mind, because a lot of times
you do. And then it's like, oh, okay, well let
me just pick a breath, and yes, now I'm ready.
I want to walk through that door for the first time.
(10:44):
And it just makes it easier when they know what
to expect. I mean, you can talk over the phone
and tell a person that, but when you can meet
in person. It really has been very well received. Where
we've done this twice now we do it once a month,
the second Monday of the month, and it has been
very well received and a lot of grief is shared.
(11:06):
I mean, it's a lot to share your grief story
for the first time and stuff. But yes, we've had
a lot of success with that because when you can
be in a group with other people who are new
on their journey, it helps them to know that they're
not alone. But really sharing their story for the first time,
it really is helpful to be able to do that
(11:26):
in that type of setting, so that then when they
move into the next setting and know what to expect,
it can be less intimidating and they want to be
a part of it and stuff. So we're very pleased
with being able to offer this and we've had a
lot of people saying, I am so glad that I
got to do that.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
That's great starting the journey understanding grief before support group.
That's just the beginning of what they can do for
you at Companions on a Journey. Let's talk about the
fundraiser coming up. It's a breakfast fundraiser in November to
help put some more money back in the coffers so
that you can pay for the professionals that you use
and some of the needs that you met. So let's
(12:06):
let's hear all about where we can get tickets and
where it's going to be.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
So our breakfast fundraiser is on November twelfth. It's Morning
of Hope and it's a breakfast fundraiser. You can buy
tickets on our website at www dot Companions on a
Journey dot org, or you can call our office at
five one three eight seven zero nine to one zero
eight either way. I mean, if anybody just reaches out
(12:31):
that way, it's fine. But you know, our Breakfast fundraiser,
when you go to it, you're going to meet several
people that have gone through our program. They're going to
share their story, but we also have a few videos
that will share again their grief journey and also share
the importance of companions on a journey. All of our
services are at no cost to the bereaved, and we
(12:51):
want it to stay that way. However, we know, as
you said, there is a cost, you know, for a
breathing specialist. Each month, we have a monthly newsletters for
our adults that go through the programs. We have them
for the parents that have children in our school programs.
We have them for the counselors that are in these
school programs and stuff. So we really try to educate
(13:13):
as much as what we can as well. But all
those services are really at no cost to the breed
and so this Breakfast Sundraiser is really important, and we
do it in the month of November because it's Child
Grief Awareness Month and one in ten children again will
lose the death of a parent who are sibling, you know,
and it's really important for us to be able to
(13:35):
be present and genuine and authentic to the children that
we care for, you know, whether it's a teacher, whether
it's a counselor or a parent. And so we take
this time in November to be able to be present
to that child, to inform and educate, but also too
to thank the people that care for our students that
are grieving. You know. I know a lot of parents
(13:57):
will ask us what can we do when they hear
at the breakfast, you know, some of the children and
teens talking, I think they're going to realize, Okay, this
is what I can do. This is what my child's
going through. Because sometimes children are afraid to share with
their parents what they're going through because the parents are
going through something, you know, you know. So I think
(14:18):
it's yeah, they really are, you know, And so we
have to validate all feelings. There's no right or wrong
way to grieve. And I think through a breakfast Sundraiser,
you're going to find that it's just a great morning,
and I think you walk away, you'll know what companions
on the journey is doing, who also will empower others
to be able to support the breath because nobody can
(14:41):
escape death. Everybody is going to encounter death at some
point in their life. Some of those deaths that are
going to be more devastating than others. But we're going
to have people around us that we want to support,
and so I think that you'll walk away with key
points to be able to do that. We want them
to share what they're going through. We don't want to
(15:02):
say you have to be strong, because they're going to
suppress those feelings and then those feelings can go into depression.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
So we really say the wrong thing.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
It's so easy if you don't have any any words
in your pocket ready to go when these things happen,
especially when you're a younger person and you've not experienced
death before. You can really compound the damage if you will,
by saying the wrong things. So I'm glad you're there
to put those words and make them available for folks
that they can better help those who are bereaved in
(15:32):
their life. Where is the breakfast going to be?
Speaker 3 (15:36):
The breakfast fundraiser is going to be at the Savannah
Center in Westchester, Ohio. We'll check in at eight o'clock.
In between eight and eight thirty, we will be serving breakfast.
The program will begin at eight thirty and it'll be
done by nine thirty. We just hope that more people
come to this. Each year, we've grown in attendance because
(15:57):
we feel we really want no person and to greet alone.
So the more that we can educate people and support them,
I think we're going to end up in a world
like that, because we truly need support when we're grieving
the death of a loved one, and we want people
to find that hope, strength and healing. It's so important.
Speaker 1 (16:19):
Sheila, thanks so much for your time today. I will
actually see you there.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
I will be there so I will get to see
you in person and meet some of the folks that
we've spoken to over the couple of years here that
we've been in contact, and I hope to encourage others
to come out and join us for the Companions on
a Journey Morning of Hope Breakfast fundraiser, November the twelve.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
November twelfth, All right, Sheila, we'll see you there. Thank you.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
I appreciate you well, Sandy, I appreciate you.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
Up next, if you like true crime, you'll want to
hear this.
Speaker 3 (16:53):
We think about symptoms of post traumatic stress or vicarious trauma.
You see the world in a different way afterwards.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
That's next on my heart since
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