In September of 2014, approximately 20 years after her stepson Logan died, Basia Mosinski’s only child Richard died suddenly of a pulmonary embolism. Broken and in deep despair, she did a web search for support for bereaved parents. The Compassionate Friends National Organization website popped up. She remembered them from 20 years prior when her stepson Logan died in a train crash. She found there was a chapter about 20 miles from where she lived. 

In November of 2014. Basia reluctantly entered the room, weak in the knees, wondering if anything or anyone could help her … let alone a room full of strangers. One of the greeters, a dad, who was a leader in the chapter, asked if she needed a hug. She melted into a puddle of tears. 

Like most bereaved parents, Basia was emotionally exhausted. She made the drive month after month experiencing a whole range of feelings on the drive. With tears streaming down her cheeks, she wondered if there were any bereaved parents closer to where she lived, a place that her son and she loved so much. 

In her grief, Basia needed people who understood this type of loss. That was her motivation to explore the possibility of starting The Newport Beach Chapter of The Compassionate Friends. She made a social media post to see if any bereaved parents were interested in meeting together. One mom, who was a little further along on her grief journey, responded to the post. Basia and Marie, along with her husband Larry, met the required three-person minimum of a Steering Committee. Basia filed appropriate documents with the National Organization and began leading monthly meetings.

Our first meeting was in November of 2015. Several leaders and members from the other chapter came to support them. The Newport Beach Chapter was chartered in January of 2016.

Today, our chapter is strong due to the support of a team of volunteers that serve on the steering committee. The strength they bring comes from their dedication to helping others and the love they have for their children.

Rich, Logan, Robby, Dillon and Daniel

The Compassionate Friends was founded over 50 years ago when a chaplain at the Warwickshire Hospital in England brought together two sets of grieving parents and realized that the support they gave each other was better than anything he, as a chaplain, could ever say or provide. Meeting around a kitchen table, the Lawleys and the Hendersons were joined by a bereaved mother and the chaplain, Simon Stephens, and The Society of the Compassionate Friends was born. The Compassionate Friends jumped across the ocean and was established in the United States and incorporated in 1978 in Illinois. 

Each chapter, along with the supporting National Office, is committed to helping every bereaved parent, sibling, or grandparent who may walk through our doors or contact us. 

Today TCF has over 600 chapters serving all 50 states plus Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and Guam, that offer friendship, understanding, and hope to bereaved parents, siblings, grandparents, and other family members during the natural grieving process after a child has died. Around the world more than 30 countries have a Compassionate Friends presence, encircling the globe with support so desperately needed when the worst has happened.