All of our groups are currently being held virtually via Zoom. Contact us for more information by emailing Ryan Loiselle at r.loiselle@friendsway.org.

FRIENDS WAY offers open-ended groups for children ages 3 to 18 and their families following the death of a significant person in their lives. There is no fee charged for participation in our programs. All sessions are facilitated by a qualified clinician and professionally trained volunteers.

Programs

Rhode Island’s only bereavement center dedicated to serving children and teens, ages three to eighteen, and their families.

FRIENDS WAY remains steadfast in our commitment of providing peer support to grieving families in a safe, nurturing environment and is staffed with mental health professionals and extensively trained volunteers from the community who assist children and their families through their grief with comfort and support from peers struggling with similar feelings of loss.

FRIENDS WAY is a division of Gateway Healthcare, a Lifespan partner. With multiple locations throughout Rhode Island, Gateway is the largest provider of behavioral health care services in the state and serves more than 15,000 clients annually.

• Monthly support group meetings
• Quarterly newsletter
• Resource library and literature on grieving
• Annual Candle Lighting Ceremony the second Sunday in December
  Remembrance Garden in downtown Providence

The Compassionate Friends (TCF) Providence Chapter, a national, nonprofit support organization that offers friendship, understanding, and hope to families who are grieving the death of a child of any age, from any cause.

The secret of TCF’s success is simple: As seasoned grievers reach out to the newly bereaved, energy that has been directed inward begins to flow outward and both are helped to heal. Our vision is that everyone who needs us will find us and everyone who finds us will be helped.

There is no religious affiliation and all are welcome.

Camp BraveHeart , ages 4-17 who have experienced loss.

HopeHealth's summer children's grief support camp, Camp BraveHeart, offers kids ages 4 - 17 the opportunity to express their grief and find hope and healing in a safe, supportive space. 

HopeHealth's summer children's grief support camp, Camp BraveHeart, offers kids ages 4 - 17 the opportunity to express their grief and find hope and healing in a safe, supportive space. This year, HopeHealth is offering Camp BraveHeart in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. 

Camp BraveHeart in Massachusetts

Hockomock Area YMCA
North Attleborough, MA
Thursday & Friday, July 20 & 21, 2023
9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

(REGISTRATION WILL OPEN ON APRIL 1.)

Camp BraveHeart in Rhode Island

Camp JORI
Wakefield, RI
Thursday & Friday, August 17 & 18, 2023
9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

(REGISTRATION WILL OPEN ON APRIL 1)

Individual, couple, and family counseling services treating children, adolescents and adults.

Master of Clinical Social Work, Boston College.
Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker
Certified Infant Massage Therapist

Anyone grieving the loss of a loved one.

• Bereavement and Grief Support Groups

Open to all who have lost a baby

Provides 24/7 crisis counseling line for anyone who has lost a baby. Grief support for those who have suffered a loss due to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and other sleep-related infant deaths and stillbirth.