About Us

The Compassionate Friends is a national nonprofit, self-help support organization offering friendship, understanding and hope to families grieving the death of a child of any age, from any cause. There is no religious affiliation. There are no membership fees or dues. All bereaved family members are welcome. The Mercer Area Chapter holds meetings on the first Monday of every month at 7:00 p.m. (except on holidays) and are open to anyone who has suffered the loss of a child, sibling or grandchild. We have a community of members who support each other during these times of loss, and they are welcome to join us at any time, no matter when the loss occurred. If you are interested in attending call 609-498-4698.  

When you walk into a Compassionate Friends meeting no one cares what you do, how famous you are, what neighborhood you live in, where you went to school, or any of the things that seem to define people in today’s society. All are welcome because we are all the same and carrying the same pain born out of tragedy. If you’ve thought about attending a TCF meeting, we hope you will when the time is right. For this is a long difficult road on which we travel… 

Mission: When a child dies, at any age, the family suffers intense pain and may feel hopeless and isolated. The Compassionate Friends provides highly personal comfort, hope, and support to every family experiencing the death of a son or a daughter, a brother or a sister, or a grandchild, and helps others better assist the grieving family (adopted 2-25-2012). 

Credo: We need not walk alone. We are The Compassionate Friends. We reach out to each other with love, with understanding, and with hope. The children we mourn have died at all ages and from many different causes, but our love for them unites us. Your pain becomes my pain, just as your hope becomes my hope. We come together from all walks of life, from many different circumstances. We are a unique family because we represent many races, creeds, and relationships. We are young, and we are old. Some of us are far along in our grief, but others still feel a grief so fresh and so intensely painful that they feel helpless and see no hope. Some of us have found our faith to be a source of strength, while some of us are struggling to find answers. Some of us are angry, filled with guilt or in deep depression, while others radiate an inner peace. But whatever pain we bring to this gathering of The Compassionate Friends, it is pain we will share, just as we share with each other our love for the children who have died. We are all seeking and struggling to build a future for ourselves, but we are committed to building a future together.  We reach out to each other in love to share the pain as well as the joy, share the anger as well as the peace, share the faith as well as the doubts, and help each other to grieve as well as to grow. We Need Not Walk Alone. We Are The Compassionate Friends.