Continued Care and Grief Resources
We Need Not Walk Alone
When a loved one dies, the bereaved family often struggles with difficult, painful feelings. Many families feel abandoned by friends, relatives and even God.
Knowing grief and bereavement personally, the McLean Family devotes significant resources to the continuing care of the families it is privileged to serve.
Journeying Through Grief is a powerful after-care resource that consists of a series of four short books that McLean Families receive throughout their first year after their loss. Dr. Kenneth Haugh, a clinical psychologist and pastor whose wife died of ovarian cancer, wrote the books in a warm, caring style that speaks from his heart. The short, easy-to-read chapters include his extensive research with others who have suffered loss.
My Care Letter—Guiding Me Through Life’s Passages is designed to provide informative material for bereaved families. There are twelve issues of the newsletter available to families served by McLean Funeral Directors. The care letter is a compilation of articles, poems and suggestions by grief and recovery professionals who have experienced the loss of a loved one.
To assist bereaved families who are without a pastor, Rev. Joe Lawing (Belmont) and Pastor John Stanley (Gastonia) officiate funerals and memorial services. They serve McLean Funeral Directors as Chaplains. Also, they are available to families for grief consultation.
Continuing Care / Support Groups / Grief
Counseling
In addition to its Chaplains, McLean Funeral Directors, for continued support and reinforcement, has an outstanding relationship with New Hope Counseling Center for Grief and Loss, a service of Gaston Hospice. Our President, Mr. Billy McLean is a past chairman of the board of Gaston Hospice. The New Hope Counseling Center services are available to anyone in the community, regardless of whether or not the deceased was a Gaston Hospice patient. To schedule an appointment or register, call (704) 861-8405.
Loss of a Child
McLean Funeral Directors sponsors the monthly newsletter published by The Compassionate Friends, and our Gastonia Chaplain, Pastor John Stanley, is actively involved in, and is a co-founder of the Southern Piedmont Chapter (Gastonia). The group’s phone number is (704) 865-7229, its web site is: www.compassionatefriends.org
The mission of The Compassionate Friends is to assist families toward the positive resolution of grief following the death of a child of any age and to provide information to help others be supportive.
Holiday Memorial Service
McLean Funeral Directors hosts a Holiday Memorial Service in its Belmont Chapel the last Sunday in November, and two additional services, one at 2:00 pm and another at 4:00 pm, in its Gastoina Chapel the first Sunday in Decemeber.
The families are given an angel with the loved one’s name engraved thereon. During the memorial services family members light candles in memory of their loved one. As one lady said, “I feel that I can now get through this first Christmas, now that I have honored my husband’s memory.”
Special Speakers and Seminars
Occasionally, McLean Funeral Directors hosts special speakers. As an example, the firm has hosted Marilyn Heavilin, a nationally-known author on bereavement. Marilyn authored the widely read Roses in December. She has suffered the deaths of three children.
Also, McLean Funeral Directors’ personnel participate in programs within the community, such as Hospice-sponsored programs, and a widows/widowers support group.
Grief Resources
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AARP*
Grief and Loss Programs
601 E. Street, NW
Washington, DC 20049
Air Crash Support Network
1595 York Ave., Box 22
New York, NY 10028
(877) ACSN-HELP
Alive Alone
11115 Dull Robinson Road
Van Wert, OH 45891
Alliance of Grandparents
PO Box 17281
Phoenix, AZ 85011-0281
(888) 774-7437
ALS Association*
27001 Agoura Road
Calabasas, CA 91301
(818) 880-9007
Alzheimer's Association*
919 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 1000
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 335-8700
American Association of Suicidology
4201 Connecticut Ave., NW
Suite 310
Washington, DC 20049
American Cancer Society*
1599 Clifton Road, NE
Atlanta, GA 30329
(800) ACS-2345
American Diabetes Association Research Foundation*
1701 North Beauregard Street
Alexandria, VA 22311
American Foundation for AIDS
Research*
120 Wall St.
New York, NY 10005
(212) 682-7440 ext. 210
American Heart Association*
7320 Greenville Ave.
Dallas, TX 75231
527-6941
American Hospice Foundation
1130 Connecticut, NW, Suite 700
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 223-0204
E-mail:ahf@msn.com
American Kidney Fund*
6110 Executive Blvd., Suite 1010
Rockville, MD 20852
(800) 638-8299
American Liver Foundation
1425 Pomptom Ave.
Cedar Grove, NJ 07009-1000
(800) 233-0179
American Lung Association*
1740 Broadway
New York, NY 10019
(800) LUNG-USA
American SIDS Institute*
2480 Windy Hill Rd. Suite 380
Marietta, GA 30067
(800) 232-SIDS
Association for Death Education and Counseling
342 Main St.
West Hartford, CT 06117-2507
(860) 586-7503
Backstoppers
9811 South Forty Drive Suite 3
St. Louis, MO 63124
314-692-0200
Bereaved Parents of the USA
P.O. Box 95
Park Forest, IL 60466
(630) 971-3490
Bereavement Services/RTS
Gunderson Lutheran Medical Center
1910 South Ave.
La Crosse, WI 54601
(608) 791-4747 or
(800) 362-9567 Ext. 4747
Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation*
3910 Warner St.
Kensington, MO 20895
(800) 366-2223
(301) 962-3521
Center for Loss in Multiple Birth
(CLIMB) Inc.*
P.O. Box 91377
Anchorage, AK 99509
(907) 222-5321
The Compassionate Friends*
P.O. Box 3696
Oak Brook, IL 60522-3696
(630) 990-0010
(Supports families who have experienced the death of a child)
Concerns of Police Survivors
P.O. Box 3199, So. Highway 5
Camdenton, MO 65020
(314) 346-4911
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation*
6931 Arlington Road
Bethesda, MD 20014
(800) 344-4823
Funeral Service Educational Foundation
13625 Bishop's Drive
Brookfield, WI 53005
(877) 402-5900
Grief Magazine
1941 Bishop Lane, Suite 202
Louisville, KY 40219-1927
(800) 346-3087
GROWW.org*
Hospice Foundation of America
2001 S Street, NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20009
(800) 854-3402 |
In Loving Memory*
1416 Green Run Lane
Reston, VA 20090
(703) 435-0608
(Dedicated to helping parents cope with the loss of their only child or all of their children.)
Leukemia Society of America*
600 Third Ave.
New York, NY 10016
(703) 960-1100
The Living Bank
Organ and Tissue Donation
Box 6725
Houston, TX 77265
(800) 528-2971
Make-A-Wish Foundation
Of America*
100 Charendon Ave., Suite 2200
Phoenix, AZ 85013
(602) 279-9474
March of Dimes Birth
Defects Association*
1275 Marnaroneck Ave.
White Plains, NY 10605
(800) 453-3816
Mothers Against Drunk Driving
Victim Assistance Program
511 E John Carpenter Freeway
Suite 700
Irving, TX 75062
(800) GET-MADD
Muscular Dystrophy Association*
3300 E. Sunrise Dr.
Tucson, AZ 85718
(520) 529-2000
National AIDS Fund
1400 "I" St., NW, Suite 1220
Washington, DC 20005-2208
(202) 408-4848
National Catholic Ministry
28700 Euclid Ave.
Cleveland, OH 44092-2527
(440) 943-3480
National Donor Family Council
C/o National Kidney Foundation
30 East 33rd St.
New York, NY 10016
(800) 622-9010
(212) 889-2210
(For Families of those who died and became
Organ and/or tissue donors.)
National Hospice Organization*
1901 N. Moore St., Suite 901
Arlington, VA 22209
(703) 243-5900
(800) 658-8898
Parents of Murdered Children Inc.
(POMC)
100 E. Eighth St., B41
Cincinnati, OH 45202
(513) 721-5683
(888) 818-POMC
Pen-Parents Inc.
PO Box 8738
Reno, NV 89507
(702) 826-7332
(Support network designed for grieving parents
and grandparents providing a pen-pal type service.)
Ray of Hope
PO Box 2323
Iowa City, IA 52244
(319) 337-9890
(For survivors of those who died from suicide.)
Salvation Army National
Headquarters*
615 Slaters Ln.
PO Box 269
Alexandria, VA 22313
(703) 684-5500
SHARE Pregnancy & Infant Loss
Support Inc.
St. Joseph's Health Center
300 1st Capitol Dr.
St. Charles, MO 63001
(800) 821-6819 (For families who have experienced the death
of a baby due to miscarriage, stillbirth, or neonatal death.)
SIDS Alliance*
1314 Bedford Ave., Suite 210
Baltimore, MD 21208
(800) 221-7437
(410) 653-8226
Society of Military Widows
5535 Hempstead Way
Springfield, VA 22151
(703) 750-1342
THEOS Foundation, Inc.
322 Blvd. Of the Allies
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
(412) 471-7779
TBI/Tissue Banks International*
815 Parks Ave.
Baltimore, MD 21201
(800) 756-4824
Tragedy Assistance Program for
Survivors Inc. (TAPS)
2001 S Street, NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20036
(800) 959-TAPS
(202) 588-8277
United Cerebral Palsy
Association*
1660 L St. NW
Suite 700
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 776-04006
(800) USA-5UCP
Wings of Lights Inc.
16845 N. 29th Ave., Ste 1
Phoenix, AZ 85053
(800) 613-8531
(Support and information network for aircraft accident survivors and others
directly affected by aviation accidents.) |
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* Denotes a national charitable organization | |
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