Nobody asks to be a widow—and those who have experienced the death of a spouse know all too well the pain and anguish of this life-changing loss. Finding someone who can relate to these feelings can provide valuable solace and support for those who are grieving.
“As an organization, our leaders have personally experienced the power of the words, ‘I get it.’ We have felt the relief of being understood by another widowed person,” writes a member of Soaring Spirits International, an organization born out of two women’s shared grief over the deaths of their husbands.
Michele Neff Hernandez lost her husband to a cycling accident in 2005 and attempted to handle the crushing tragedy by seeking out other widowed people to find out how they managed to live through the death of their partners. When Hernandez met Michelle Dippel, newly widowed the same year, she soon realized the importance of having a widowed friend in processing, venting and rebuilding through this challenging experience. Their connection led to the creation of Soaring Spirits International, a nonprofit organization that has connected millions of widowed people across the world, providing them with an understanding community and support so that no widowed person has to grieve alone.
“We have laughed, and cried, with our widowed community. We have witnessed the transformation that having access to hope makes for someone whose life has been altered by death,” notes a member virtually at SoaringSpirits.org.
With the goal to connect widowed people with each other, Soaring Spirits’ unique programs prove to widowed people from all walks of life that they are not alone. Life-affirming connections via virtual and in-person support groups, weekend retreats and more provide hope for widowed people in the moment and for the future.
“The grief process grows you in incredible ways and it’s also hard as F--!” says Angeline Thomas, deputy director of Soaring Spirits International. “The one thing that makes it a little easier is not being alone in it. Through programs like our regional support groups and Camp Widow, people go from saying, ‘I feel completely alone; nobody understands’ to ‘I found my people, my experience has been validated and I have hope for the future.’ And you never have to graduate. It’s a lifelong community that you decide whether or not to engage in--we’re here for the long haul.”
Soaring Spirits is an inclusive, secular organization that welcomes any widowed person regardless of marital status, age, gender, nationality, sexual orientation or religious affiliation to participate in virtual and in-person programs.
Soaring Spirits has information, resources and a community of understanding for those at any point in their widowhood, whether the loss was recent or many years ago; and virtual and local in-person regional groups to help widowed people rebuild their social network. All these resources are available online at widowedvillage.org.
“The first year is among the most stressful and most difficult,” says Thomas. “Really having a consistent base of other people as a support network builds camaraderie and resilience. In-person groups meet twice a month to do something like go on a hike; support and friendships build around that. For those navigating the first year of loss, the newly widowed call meets online every Tuesday on Zoom and people from all over the world join.”
To find information about a regional group in the area, or to access the newly widowed call visit widowedvillage.org to join for free.
“One of our core commitments is to keep our community safe, so we ask that every person that comes to us goes through a registration process to verify their widow experience with a death certificate, obituary or a social media post,” notes Thomas.
Soaring Spirits’ Widowed Village has tons of other resources too. It’s an online 24/7 community offering a place to write, read and share thoughts with other widowed people. It houses the Widow’s Voice Blog, the largest library in the world of blogs written by widowed people about love, grief and life after the death of a partner; Widowed Pen Pals, providing an opportunity to connect with another widowed person by email; and Newly Widowed Packets, offering quick, easy ways to connect a widowed person with the Soaring Spirits community.
Soaring Spirits’ signature program is Camp Widow, a weekend retreat planned by widowed people for widowed people where participants share an uplifting, life-affirming experience that builds invaluable community, resilience and healing.
Soaring Spirits is raising R&D funds to launch a groundbreaking Public Health Initiative in 2025 to change the way the public supports widowed people through coordinated partnerships, customized training and resource deployment. “We want to act as a force for good for widowed people,” says Thomas. “When their life is turned upside down and smashed into a million pieces, we want grief literate EMTS, doctors, nurses, police, and other support people to catch them in a web of support.”
Lend a Hand
Several ways to help support the mission of Soaring Spirits include making a donation online at SoaringSpirits.org and attending the 2nd Annual Gala at the Ronald Reagan Library in May 2024. Tickets are on sale at SoaringSpirits.org.
“We don’t advertise. We want to scale programs to help as many people as possible,” Thomas notes. “The hurdle is to have the funding to scale what we know already works.”
Learn more at SoaringSpirits.org.
