Finding A Place To Grieve On The Holidays

As Julia puts together her memory book the Bessemer kids are hard at work on a holiday wreath.  They're cutting pieces of paper with their dad's name on it and gluing.  This is the first Christmas they're without their father.

"It's hard because our dad died a few days after Christmas so we had to have a bunch of holidays without our dad," says Tyler Bessemer.

Brian Bessemer from Grand Prairie lost his battle to Leukemia on January 11, 2010.  He was 40 years old and the father of Jackson, 10, Tyler, 9, Emma, 7, and Ashleigh, 6.

His kids say the grieving hasn't gotten any easier.  "I just want to say not having him here -  not having him in general," explains Jackson Bessemer.

Brian was diagnosed with leukemia in June of 2009.  Though they had some time to prepare for his death, the DeRogatis family had no time.  George DeRogatis killed himself on October 20, 2009.  "You kind of go on auto pilot you do the bare minimum of what has to be done," remembers Shannon DeRogatis as she wipes away tears.

In the hustle and bustle of the holiday season grief can be especially tough, but for the DeRogatis and Bessemer family's there is one place they feel safe.  "We all share in common one thing and that is one of our parents has died," says Julia.

At The WARM Place in Fort Worth grief stricken children and parents can cope.  While the kids work on activities and talk about what they are going through, parents are doing the same thing but with people who understand their pain.

"Our first meeting was on my husband's birthday and if it hadn't been for the fact that I had come to The WARM Place that evening I don't know if I would have gotten through the day with my sanity," says Shannon.

Ondrea Bessemer can relate.  "The kids didn't want to talk about Brian at first they just didn't want to talk about him and we came here and it's good to talk about him."

Over the years The WARM Place has helped thousands of families, but in the last several years with the tough economy the non-profit has noticed as spike in the number of people needing help.  "Last year we had a 12% increase.  This year we are tracking between an 8% to 10% increase," says Vicki Johnson who is the Executive Director of The WARM Place.

In 1984, Peggy Bohme recognized the need for a support group for grieving children after the death of her teenage son Michael.

She was in search of something like it for her daughter who was grieving the loss.  After not finding anything she started the non-profit.  The WARM Place has been helping North Texas families for more than two decades now.

Right now about 350 families a month are turning to the organization.  "It really helps the parents and the children feel less isolated and alone," says Johnson "It helps them get a grip on their anxiety and fears, because they can express them and get them out in the open and not hold them in."

For more information on The Warm Place, including ways you can help, click here.