Grief Resources
Peer Grief Support Specialist Mary Peckham began her work with PCO in January of 2019. After losing her son Matthew to an overdose in September of 2012, Mary immersed herself into helping those who were experiencing the same grief she once felt. Mary conducts grief support outreach visits with Plymouth County Outreach Officers to families or loved ones who have lost someone to substance use. Her mission is to make sure people know they are not alone and provide them with the resources and supports they need to make it through such a difficult time in their lives.
If you or anyone you know is interested in Peer Grief Support, reach out through the connect page on our website, our Facebook, or call (508) 830-4218 x261.
Helpful resources:
“Team Sharing Inc. (www.teamsharinginc.org/) is a national organization of parents who have lost a child to Substance Use Disorder (SUD). Through social networking, community activism, grief services and advocacy, Team Sharing provides support and friendship to grieving families while working to raise awareness of Substance Use Disorder and its impact on our communities.”
“Grief Recovery After Substance Passing (GRASP) (grasphelp.org/m/) was created to offer understanding, compassion, and support for those who have lost someone they love through addiction and overdose. Too many times we suffer not only the death of the person we love, but we become isolated in our grief. We feel, and too many times it is true, that no one understands our pain. But at GRASP, we do. We have suffered this same kind of loss and we have found the love and connection that only those who have lived this loss can give another. And while the pain of this loss will always be with us, we have found through GRASP that we don’t have to walk the road that is our pain alone. We walk it together; hand in hand and heart to heart.”
“Learn to Cope (www.learn2cope.org/) is a non-profit support network that offers education, resources, peer support and hope for parents and family members coping with a loved one addicted to opiates or other drugs. Founded by Joanne Peterson in 2004, the organization has grown to include over 10,000 members, and has become a nationally recognized model for peer support and prevention programming.
You can call our office at : (508) 738-5148 to speak to one of the staff.”
“SADOD (https://sadod.org/support-group-directory/) provides resources, information, and assistance to people throughout Massachusetts who have been affected by the death of someone they care about from a substance-use-related cause. Our focus is on increasing the capacity and effectiveness of peer grief support for bereaved people, frontline care providers, and people in recovery or struggling with drug use.”
“The Sun Will Rise Foundation (http://www.thesunwillrise.org/) provides support to the residents of Massachusetts towns for issues regarding substance use disorder. We help with education, prevention and awareness by sharing Nick Bean’s story at speaking engagements and with the community. We offer scholarships both to treatment, sober living and in Nick’s memory towards further education in the EMT field. We also offer family and recovery support if help is needed. And lastly we offer grief support for loss due to overdose or substance use. The grief support is provided through a closed Facebook page and monthly in person (or online zoom) meetings held in Braintree, Bridgewater, Brockton, Foxboro, Maynard, Newburyport, Raynham, Quincy and Weymouth Massachusetts. We help find those who are suffering with the loss of someone they love from substance use disorder or overdose and provide them with the care, compassion, understanding and support that they need.”