With these words and a warm and welcoming hug, our Founder Susan Cox has greeted thousands of grieving families over the past 25 years. Sadly, we find that many people don’t know about us until they need us – following the death of a loved one. The Christi Center’s mission is “To provide love, hope, comfort and ongoing support to people adjusting to life after the death of a loved one, regardless of circumstances; and to educate the community on grief and bereavement.” So we’re about two things – being here to offer support when you need us, but also teaching everyone in our community how we can better support each other when we are grieving. This is a mission that matters to everyone, because we will all grieve the death of someone we love.
Grief is uncomfortable, but it doesn’t have to be. As a natural part of life, there are things that we can say and do for each other when we’re grieving that help us heal. Oddly, many losses in life have a way of reminding us of our faith in humanity. We watch families and communities come together to love and support each other through a loss. While the loss itself is hard, people lifting up (and sometimes carrying) each other with acts of generosity and kindness is a good reminder of how to build the world we all want to live in.
Here at the Center, we witness this love, hope, comfort and support every day. People come to us with aching hearts and from the initial hugs they find hope and eventually, healing. With this blog, we hope to give you a glimpse into how we help each other heal here – and how you can, too. Welcome to The Christi Center – we’re glad you found us.
