TCF Wake — Free Bereaved Parents Support Group Raleigh, NC
The Compassionate Friends, Wake County Chapter (TCF Wake) is a free peer support community for bereaved parents, grandparents, and adult siblings grieving the death of a child of any age, from any cause, at any time. Part of the national Compassionate Friends network, the Wake County chapter has been meeting in the Raleigh area for years and welcomes any family member walking through this particular grief.
What to Expect
The chapter meets on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of every month at 7:00 p.m. at Hayes Barton Baptist Church, 1800 Glenwood Avenue, Raleigh, NC (Five Points intersection). Meetings are hybrid — you may attend in person or join over Zoom. Each meeting is facilitated by trained bereaved-parent peer leaders who have completed The Compassionate Friends’ chapter leadership training. There is no clinician, no required curriculum, and no expectation to speak. The format follows the long-established TCF model of confidential peer sharing, with a check-in round followed by open conversation grounded in shared experience. Some meetings have a loose theme — anniversaries, holidays, sibling grief — but everything is held loosely so members can bring what they need to bring.
Who This Group Is For
Bereaved parents, grandparents, and adult siblings whose child, grandchild, or sibling has died. All ages of loss and all causes are welcome — sudden, anticipated, infant, adult, accidental, illness, suicide, overdose. Newly bereaved families and long-term members sit together; both bring something to the room. Many members attend with a partner or co-parent, and others come alone; both are common and welcomed.
Why Peer Support Works
The loss of a child reshapes a family in ways that are hard to convey to people who have not lived it. Meeting twice a month with others who have, in person or on Zoom, allows grief to be witnessed rather than performed. Many TCF members describe the chapter as the only place they can speak their child’s name out loud without watching the room flinch — a small thing that turns out to matter enormously.
How to Join
Meetings are free, open enrollment, and require no advance registration to attend in person. To request the Zoom link or ask about the next meeting, visit the TCF Wake website at tcfwake.com or reach out through the chapter’s contact form. The national Compassionate Friends 24/7 helpline is also available at (877) 969-0010 for anyone who needs immediate peer support between meetings.