In honor or #GivingTuesday, I’d like to share a few thoughts and inform you about a really amazing Grief Support Center.
For as long as we have lived, the holidays have been a time spent with loved ones. When we think back to the best holidays and best memories, we think of our family and how they enriched those moments in our lives. However, for those of us who have lost loved ones it becomes harder and harder to celebrate such supposed joyous occasions. This has been one of the hardest times of year for me. Obviously, birthdays and Fathers Day hit hard but it is Thanksgiving into Hanukkah into Christmas into New Years that I anticipate anxiously. Sometimes I think, how do I celebrate my family if we aren’t ALL together. Holidays magnify this loss thus the need for support during this time may be your greatest. We can’t deny these feelings, push them deep down and pretend they don’t exist. That’s not healthy. We must lean into them and lean into support centers like The Benjamin Center. I specifically lost my father to Cancer, so if you are like me and have lost any member of your family to cancer, you must take advantage of ALL that The Cancer Support Community Benjamin Center offers. It is a free of charge program of emotional and psychological support for people with cancer and their families. Their mission is to ensure that all people impacted by cancer are empowered by knowledge. strengthened by action and sustained by community. My mom has been going for 3 years and has found such relief.
Please check them out if you are feeling those holiday blues like I am. Or, if you feel inclined to donate on this awesome day that is #GivingTuesday go to https://www.
More info. here:
Cancer Support Community Benjamin Center — Cancer Support Community (CSC) offers free of charge services of for cancer patients and their families of group support, short-term counseling, over twenty healthy lifestyle classes per week (such as yoga, meditation and Pilates), educational workshops with world renowned physicians and complementary practitioners, social support and family programs . Founded in 1982 by Harriet and Harold Benjamin, Ph.D., Cancer Support Community (formerly The Wellness Community) has been an integral part of the Los Angeles cancer care community for over thirty years. CSC Benjamin Center is the founding organization, generating a national and international affiliate system of over 50 locations, which includes Gilda’s Clubs, named for Saturday Night Live comedian, Gilda Radner. Cancer Support Community provides services at its home location on Bundy and La Grange in West Los Angeles and also serves the greater Los Angeles area, extending from Malibu to Downtown to El Segundo and Sherman Oaks. CSC also serves the underserved Spanish-speaking population at two downtown hospitals, White Memorial and California Hospital. For more information about CSC Benjamin Center, call 310-314-2555 or visit www.
For a list of CSCs across the country and internationally, visit www.cancersupportcommunity.org
