The North Shore-Boston Chapter of The Compassionate Friends Sibling Group was established to give siblings a place to share memories, say the name of their sibling, discuss changing family dynamics, and talk about how to live after loss. The purpose of this group is to honor, support, and recognize siblings so they may better face the future with strength, courage, and hope. We hope to establish a community for bereaved siblings through shared experiences and discussion. We remember our siblings with joy and with sadness, with tears and with smiles. Sibling loss is as unique as each sibling relationship. The meetings will explore the feelings that go on after a sibling dies, while also remembering all of the times we spent together in life.

Our sibling meetings are held via Zoom on the third Wednesday of each month. Please refer to the Meetings page or the Home page of the website for the Sibling Meeting schedule.

Our Sibling Group meetings were started by Michael Padulsky, who led a similar group at Boston College for fellow classmates who were living with loss of any kind. Michael’s older brother, Timothy, died at the age of 20 from leukemia when Michael was 15 years old.

If you would like further information about our Sibling Group, you may contact of the following members by e-mail or by phone:

"When you close your eyes and remember, don't forget that your sibling rests yet in you, in your heart and in your thoughts, in everything you do. They will never leave you alone. You have a listener at your beck and call. What a gift!"   ~ From a Sibling

When a child has died, siblings are often referred to as "the forgotten mourners."  While parents usually receive most of the support of relatives and friends, siblings generally receive litte - often being asked, "How are your parents doing?"  The Compassionate Friends is an organization that is not just for bereaved parents.  It's also for bereaved siblings and grandparents.  Some chapters have sibling subgroups (which welcome siblings age 14 and up), while adult siblings are welcome at all TCF chapter meetings.  Contact your local chapter to find out their policies on siblings attending meetings. 

Feel free to contact the National TCF office at 877-969-0010 to request a free of charge, customized bereavement packet. 

Various means of support can be found on The Compassionate Friends national website:

- Online Support Community (live chats) allows you to talk to other bereaved siblings across the country during the Online Support Commuity sessions, which are held each week.  These sessions have a limited number of participants and have trained monitors who are also bereaved siblings.

- Two brochures made specifically for bereaved siblings:

When A Brother or Sister Dies

Adults Grieving the Death of a Sibling

- We Need Not Walk Alone, the national magazine of The Comassionate Friends, which includes stories for siblings, as well as the popular sibling column, "Ask Dr. Heidi."

- TCF chapters that provide sibling support (use Chapter Locator)

- National TCF Facebook page, which is another means of communicating with other bereaved siblings

(Formerly the Sibling Credo)

We are the surviving siblings of The Compassionate Friends.
We are brought together by the deaths of our brothers and sisters.
Open your hearts to us, but have patience with us.
Sometimes we will need the support of our friends.
At other times we need our families to be there.
Sometimes we must walk alone, taking our memories with us,
continuing to become the individuals we want to be.
We cannot be our dead brother or sister;
however, a special part of them lives on with us.
When our brothers and sisters died, our lives changed.
We are living a life very different from what we envisioned,
and we feel the responsibility to be strong even when we feel weak.
Yet we can go on because we understand better than many others
the value of family and the precious gift of life.
Our goal is not to be the forgotten mourners that we sometimes are,
but to walk together to face our tomorrows as surviving siblings of
The Compassionate Friends.

©The Compassionate Friends