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About Us
(continued)
As a result we sought private counseling. We met with our counselor
every week for an hour for at least 10 weeks. Christi and I were fortunate
to have parents who financially supported our sessions. But even that
didn’t seem like enough to help us get through each and every
day without Bobby. I remember Christi trying to catch her breath,
crying and saying to me, “I need a place Mark! I need a place
to go. Somewhere I could just hug someone who has been through this
mess or who is going through this miserable life like we are everyday,
there has to be something out there!” Indeed
there were many support groups, but after 18 months of going to
the monthly meeting we found it too difficult to keep going back
each month and retelling our story to a family who had just entered
the group for the first time. We weren’t growing in the meetings.
We were emotionally and spiritually drained with no real hope. It
just wasn’t enough; we needed something more. We needed a
place.
So Christi and I decided to do our homework. We
began to identify what our “place” should be like. In
doing the research we found other facilities around the county who
were dedicated to bereavement care. So we traveled west to Portland,
Oregon and visited the Dougy Center and received start-up training.
We also toured and met with the program director at the Caring Place
in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We have met and spoken with
many other founders and directors of bereavement care facilities.
That is why Christi and I feel so strongly about the need for Cornerstone
of Hope.
Cornerstone of Hope will be a home that is open
six days a week so that those hurting can access support for themselves
or their family on their specific schedule. Cornerstone of Hope
will offer professional counseling for individuals or for the entire
family unit. Free sessions will be provided to help those who cannot
afford this type of private care. Support groups will be designed
to allow growth when sharing your thoughts and feelings with your
peers. Christians and believers in God will have the option to listen
to guest speakers who can discuss suffering, why God allows pain,
or even attend a support group that incorporates spiritual components.
Extended family members can receive training on how to care for
those directly effected by the death of a loved one. Small businesses
and major corporations will be able to offer help to their employees
who productivity has been affected by the death of a loved one.
Funeral homes, schools, churches, doctors, hospitals, and even other
existing support groups will have a single, central resource center
that is strictly dedicated to bereavement care for those in need.
Our goal is not to heal all wounds or to make all
families happy again. We are simply trying to make life possible
again. Our goal is to add meaning to individuals and families lives.
We will provide the energy that is required to get through the day
in a warm, comfortable home-like environment. For Christi and I,
Cornerstone of Hope is that “something special” that
we promised to fulfill in our millennium resolution. This may sound
contradicting, but opening Cornerstone of Hope isn’t something
that Christi and I actually want to do. Rather it is a much stronger
desire that encourages us to move forward with our plans; Cornerstone
of Hope is our vocation.
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