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 SURVIVORS OF HOMICIDE
VICTIMS AWARENESS
November 20th to December 20th

SURVIVORS OF HOMICIDE VICTIMS AWARENESS MONTH
November 20th to December 20th
In collaboration with SHOC-Survivors of Homicide Organized for Change.
This yearly observance of  Survivors of Homicide Victims Awareness Month provides a platform where, as a nation, we can learn how to better assist families who have been brutally impacted by violence and to support  the efforts of survivors to inform our violence prevention, peacemaking and social justice movement.  We need this awareness month because our institutions and our society are uncomfortable dealing with survivors of homicide victims.  We don’t know what to say to them and often we don’t know what to do for them.

"Reflections of Love, Visions of Hope"

Unsolicited comments from Compassionate Friends who attended the 32nd National Conference held in Portland:

It was an amazing experience. I was in a very dark, sad place when I left home to fly to Portland. When I came home, I felt a glimmer of hope in the possibilities. I learned so much. Met some sweet, caring people. At the risk of sounding overly dramatic, it changed me. Thank you, my Compassionate Friends.

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Best thing I've ever done! Thank you to all the friends I made at the conference. You all inspire me! The memory boards were overwhelming. It was easy to only see the face of my own grief. Now I see all the beautiful faces of yours. I will forever be linked to you. I love you.

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A national conference of The Compassionate Friends is unlike any other conference you may ever attend. It is a place where you can go and know that you truly are not alone as you travel your grief journey. Every person comes for the same reason—a child has died. It is a place where “friendship, understanding, and hope” are more than just words.

For over three decades The Compassionate Friends has held national conferences in different locations, from the east coast to the west coast, from north to south. Today it’s normal to have 1100-1400 bereaved parents, siblings, and grandparents attend. Of that number, it usually is the first conference for nearly 40 percent. Those new to TCF conferences wear a special butterfly sticker so that others may notice and give them special hugs. Everyone feels they are in a place where they belong. We often say that those at the conference are friends you simply have not yet met.

At each conference, there are many activities, but you decide what is right for you. There are more than 100 workshops (but don’t think these are work—they’re really a time for learning and sharing). Many areas of grief are covered by the workshops. There are workshops for bereaved parents, siblings, and grandparents. And there will be many workshops for those who have no surviving children. You’ll find a hospitality room, a reflection room, the Butterfly Boutique, and a complete and stocked bookstore. There are very interesting and well-known speakers who address the Opening Session, the Friday afternoon banquet, the Saturday evening banquet, and the Sunday closing. You’ll marvel at the quality of entertainment geared for those attending. There’s also a special candle lighting ceremony to conclude the Saturday evening banquet. If you like a more intimate time with others, join in the evening sharing sessions of your choice.

But don’t miss the Walk to Remember Sunday at 8 a.m. prior to the closing. As many as 1300-1400 carry the names of more than 10,000 children from across the country who will always be remembered. Some fly in from across the country just to participate in the Walk!

The Compassionate Friends

Worldwide Candle Lighting

The Compassionate Friends Worldwide Candle Lighting®, held annually the second Sunday in December, this year December 12, 2010 unites family and friends around the globe as they light candles for one hour to honor and remember children who have died at any age from any cause. As candles are lit at 7 p.m. local time, creating a virtual wave of light, hundreds of thousands of persons commemorate and honor the memories of children in a way that transcends all ethnic, cultural, religious, and political boundaries.

Now believed to be the largest mass candle lighting on the globe, the Worldwide Candle Lighting, a gift from TCF to the bereavement community, creates a virtual 24-hour wave of light as it moves from time zone to time zone. Hundreds of formal candle lighting events are held and thousands of informal candle lightings are conducted in homes as families gather in quiet remembrance of children who have died, but will never be forgotten.

The Worldwide Candle Lighting started in the United States in 1997 as a small Internet observance but has since swelled in numbers as word has spread throughout the world of the remembrance.

The 2007 Worldwide Candle Lighting saw information on services received from 24 countries outside the United States. Joining TCF last year were chapters of several bereavement organizations including MISS, Twinless Twins, MADD, Parents of Murdered Children, and BPUSA and services were held in all 50 states plus Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico.

A  Remembrance Book is available during the event at TCF's USA national website. In that short one day span, thousands of messages are received and posted each year from every U.S. state and Washington D.C., every territory, as well as dozens of other countries. Some are in foreign languages.

Here in the United States, publicity about the event is widespread, being featured over the years in Dear Abby, Parade Magazine, Ann Landers column, Guideposts magazine, Annie’s Mailbox, and literally hundreds of U.S. newspapers, dozens of television stations, and numerous websites and personal blogs.

Please help spread the word about this tremendous event and invite anyone who is unable to attend a service to light a candle at 7 p.m. for one hour wherever they may be.

  All allied bereavement organizations, churches, funeral homes, hospices and formal and informal bereavement groups are invited to join in the remembrance.  

NATIONAL DAY OF REMEMBRANCE FOR MURDER VICTIMS

SEPTEMBER 25, 2007