Do you know someone who is widowed? Have you wished you could DO something to ease their pain, or provide them with a useful resource to aid them as they adapt to their loss?
We can help.
Soaring Spirits is an inclusive, secular organization focused on hope and healing through the grieving process. We are positive, and forward-thinking, while offering our community members the tools and resources they need to rebuild their lives in the aftermath of the death of a spouse or life partner. We provide both online and in-person opportunities for finding peer support.
Our programs are not focused on the losses our community has experienced, but rather on the life they still have ahead of them. You may feel helpless as you witness someone you love struggling through the loss of a spouse or partner; connecting a person you care about with other widowed people is a valuable gift.
Please know that your kindness matters. Your desire to help matters. The person you care about will need your support and understanding for much longer than society generally expects. There is no time limit to grief, and every person survives this kind of loss in their own unique way. Your loved one needs to know that you care.
The programs of Soaring Spirits are designed for the newly widowed and for those widowed any length of time. It is never too late to find a widowed community. Every Soaring Spirits program is inclusive, secular, and life-affirming. We work hard to provide programs and services that are responsive and reliable.
We offer several resources for you to share with someone you love who has outlived their spouse or partner:
You Are Not Alone Outreach Cards
Soaring Spirits’ You Are Not Alone cards are small folded business cards that contain all the information a widowed person would need to get connected with our widowed community. You Are Not Alone cards are free, easy to order, and small enough to carry in your purse or wallet.
These little cards make a big difference.
Newly Widowed Checklist
Newly Widowed Checklist
Soaring Spirits, in collaboration with the Liz Logelin Foundation, has created a general checklist for the newly widowed. Included on this list are a few things that we wished someone would have told us as we waded through the paperwork that is necessary when someone dies. This list is not an all-inclusive road map, is not intended to be used as legal advice, and should not be considered a substitute for a meeting with a duly-licensed estate attorney, but it will provide you with some tips that may make things easier in the weeks and months ahead.
We provide this checklist free of charge to both widowed people, and to the people who love them, as a downloadable pdf.
Honoring our organizations’ joint purpose of helping as many widowed people as possible, we welcome other organizations to share our checklist with their communities. We respectfully request that any use of this checklist acknowledges authorship of this list, and that all contact information included on the document remains intact.
Newly Widowed Packet
Request a Newly Widowed Packet
In an effort to provide those who are recently widowed with easy to access to the Soaring Spirits community, and reliable resources and support within the first six months of widowhood, we’ve created our Newly Widowed Packets.
These packets contain Soaring Spirits program information, a copy of our newly widowed checklist, and a personal message from one widowed person to another. Newly Widowed Packets are provided free of charge to any widowed person through the generosity of a fellow widow or widower. Each packet contains a dedication written by the packet donor.
Newly widowed packets are never sent out unsolicited. In order to respect the privacy of any widowed person, we ask that packets requested by friends or family members on behalf of a newly widowed person be sent to the address of the requesting party. The packet could then be delivered to the widowed person by someone they know and trust.
The protection of privacy is a vital part of our programs, and we very much appreciate your cooperation.
Building Your Support Network
Download the Support Network Form
In the early days following the death of a spouse or partner, the marshaling and organizing of support can be overwhelming for the widowed person in your life. This document can assist you and your widowed friend/family member in determining which types of support they may need in the days ahead and to provide a space to record the contact information of anyone willing to assist with a specific task or provide a particular service.
We hope that having an easy reference for addressing future challenges will provide your widowed friend/family member with a respite from the stress that often accompanies the need to find help at a time when asking for help can be daunting, while also allowing you a way to support them in a meaningful way.
Additional Resources
How Long Will the Person I Love Be Grieving?
Words Matter: Language for Supporting Grievers
Compassionate Conversations for Those Widowed by Suicide