A new support group for those who have lost loved ones to addiction has launched in Overland Park
GRASP — short for Grief Recovery After a Substance Passing — serves as a way for people to connect with others who share similar experiences of loss after addiction.
How it started in Overland Park
Three years ago, Dawn Owens lost her son to addiction while living in New Haven, Connecticut.
Through an online search, she found a support group specific to those who had similar experiences: Grief Recovery After a Substance Passing. She attended an online meeting during the COVID-19 pandemic but was too overwhelmed to continue at the time.
Upon moving back to the Kansas City area and discovering there was no local chapter of GRASP, Owens reached out to a former colleague at Jewish Family Services of Greater Kansas City. He brought the idea for the group to the mental health education department, and they decided to start a new chapter for the area.
Laura Bratt, Owens’ friend who has also lost loved ones to addiction, is a co-facilitator of the group.
“Dawn was probably the first person that really brought it to my attention that wow, there is nothing to address that particular kind of grief in our community and we know that there’s a huge need,” Bratt said.
The closest chapter of GRASP at the time was in St. Louis, Missouri. The two women are proud to have established the first one in the state of Kansas.
What do meetings look like?
Their first meeting was in June with five new members in attendance.
“It’s going to vary every week, because people are first learning about the group right now,” Owens said. “Unfortunately, people are on their grief journey, and if they’re ready to come in at any time, we’re there for them.”
Although the group is not led by a licensed therapist, it gives participants a chance to relate to one another and go through the grief process together.
“I think being with others who have lost someone that they love to addiction, and being able to share in a non- environment is cathartic,” Owens said. “It’s supportive, and that I’m very appreciative of. That’s what Laura I want to bring to the community, is that type of environment.”
Talking about the lingering stigma of addiction, Bratt said the shame around this type of loss is not something many are willing to share about or get help for.
“It’s not typically OK to talk about that, when people die from that, that’s frequently not shared,” she explained. “Because if there’s no reference to this person died from these causes, you wonder, oh, well, there’s something they’re not saying.”
The leaders made a point to clarify that the group is only for those who have lost someone to addiction; not for families who have a loved one struggling with addiction currently.
Fatal drug overdoses are on the rise
Bratt noted that the percentage of deaths in the Kansas City metro area is a “big fat number.”
The Centers for Disease Control reported a 43% increase in fatal drug overdoses in 2020, jumping from 478 to 680 by 2021.
“I know that there’s a lot of people that could potentially benefit, but like Dawn said, the first time she attended a grief group, she went once and it was it was too much, her grief was to at the surface too raw,” Bratt said. “And so people may not be ready at one point, but after some passage of time, they might be.”
How to get involved
Meetings take place on the fourth Tuesday of every month at the Jewish Community Campus at 5801 W. 115th St. in Overland Park from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The group is not affiliated with any religion and welcomes all walks of faith, as does every program offered by Jewish Family Services.
It is open to residents on both sides of the state line and is free to attend but registration is required. Register at: bit.ly/jfsgrasp
Paige Eichkorn is a freelance reporter.
