Grief group founder shines as beacon of hope
BAFDT Community Support Group seeks to provide support and help people understand that although the pain of loss may feel overwhelming, there are healthy ways to cope with grief.
AFTER having personally experienced great loss in her life, Audrey Anderson knew that she could not overcome the pain and suffering on her own but would need to rely on the invaluable support of her community who would share in her grief, as a helping hand towards healing.
Hence BAFDT Community Support Group was born in 2010, as a community support based non-profit organisation that seeks to provide support and help people understand that although the pain of loss may feel overwhelming, there are healthy ways to cope with grief. Founder, Audrey, shared that the acronym BAFDT stands for the names of the loved ones she has lost in her life.
“I was involved in a car accident and lost both my mom and my son. That was a dark time and I didn’t know how to move forward or carry on with life.
But I decided that in my mess, there must be a message that will see me through this hardship.
“Through all my losses I decided that in order to get my healing, I need to help others. Looking back, I think God laid it on my heart to pursue this initiative because I soon realised that there are many people in my community who are battling with grief and they don’t know what to do with it. It wasn’t long after I started meeting with some women from the community and we joined together and started sharing on our pain and grief once a week at the Wentworth Organisation of Women (WOW) Centre,” shared Audrey.
During the weekly meetings, members and visitors would share about their pain, loss and challenges faced in their individual grieving processes. The group has grown commendably and is now a sacred space for those who are broken and battling with grief and helping them through the journey of healing and wholeness again. Even subtle losses in life can trigger a sense of grief and therefore, BAFDT Community Support Group has further extended to providing support to individuals who are facing different kinds of pain whether it be from divorce, abuse, abandonment and the like.
Antoinette Jacobs, who has been a member of the support group for nine years said that she cannot thank Audrey enough for establishing this organisation and helping get through a state of total despair after losing her long-time boyfriend. “My boyfriend and I at the time were in a great place and making plans to settle down and build a life together. To suddenly lose him, broke me and I was grieving very heavily with very little support from my family, which I believe stems from the idea that many people are ill-equipped to deal with death in our community. I didn’t know what to do with myself and withdrew myself from everyday life and even started having panic attacks,” she said. It was thanks to a friend who gave her a BAFDT Community Support Group flyer and encouraged her to attend one of the meetings. She has since gained a new lease on life and is helping others by sharing on how she has regained hope through being a member of the group.
“We come together and talk, sharing our different experiences, pray and provide any support we can with the love of God. Grief is real and whatever your loss, it’s personal to you and we encourage people to not feel ashamed about their emotions how you feel. You are not alone, there is help in our support group. We have been where you are and we will help you on this journey from darkness to light,” said Audrey.
BAFDT Community Support Group meets every second Tuesday of the month from 7pm for free grief counselling at the WOW Centre, at 221 Austerville Drive, Wentworth. For more information contact Audrey Anderson on 081-431-7458.
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