Family Support for
Grieving Parents
All support recommendations are based on professional and personal experiences so that families can find the right support to meet their grief needs.
Walking with Families Through Grief
At Red Bird Ministries, we walk with families through the heartbreak of child loss—including miscarriage, stillbirth, and the death of an infant, child, adolescent, or adult. As bereaved parents ourselves, we understand this pain intimately and recognize how deeply it affects every member of the family.
Whether you're in the earliest days of grief or seeking deeper restoration, we’re here to offer personalized care, spiritual guidance, and meaningful community connection—each step tailored to your unique journey.
Through every season of sorrow and healing, we remain a faithful companion. Our mission is to offer you the hope, support, and spiritual care you need to move forward with grace.
To begin your journey with us, simply complete the registration form, and our Family Support Team will reach out to offer personalized care and guidance.
Ways We Support Families
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COMFORT CALL
Schedule a free call in the app with Elizabeth Leon, our Director of Family Support.
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SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE
Schedule a free call in the app with one of our certified spiritual directors.
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CATHOLIC THERAPY
Request a referral for a Catholic therapist in your area.
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PREGNANCY & INFANT LOSS
Carried with Love is a complete guide to caring for your body, mind, & spirit before, during, and after pregnancy and infant loss.
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SUICIDE LOSS SUPPORT
Support and healing for parents, siblings, or friends navigating the loss of a loved one to suicide.
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EARLY GRIEF
A companion to navigating the crushing loss of early grief: what to expect, what is “normal”, and how to survive.
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SIBLING SUPPORT
Find support for siblings grieving the loss of a brother or support and help for parenting after the death of a child.
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FRIENDS & FAMILY
Learn more about how to support a grieving family and normal expectations for what your loved one may be going through.
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RED BIRD PODCAST
It’s Not for Nothing is a podcast for grieving families on untangling the mess of trauma, grief, and hope after the death of a child.
“No one ever told me that grief felt so much like fear.”
— C.S. Lewis
If you are currently under the care of a therapist, you may find that participating in group support can deeply enrich your personal journey toward healing and growth. However, it is important to note that group support is never designed to replace the essential role of therapy in your grief journey.
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RBM recommends one-on-one support offerings within the first three months, as we have found that group settings during this tender period can sometimes intensify emotions. Many families have expressed a strong need for the space to fully process their feelings and to honor their unique journeys.
We recognize that each situation is different. If you have engaged in healing work, have a spiritual director, and have navigated past suffering, you may feel ready for group support sooner.
At RBM, we are here to help. We offer comfort calls with a trauma expert, spiritual direction from a mother of loss, and referrals to trusted Catholic grief counselors in your community.
Furthermore, we provide a variety of resources to explore on your own, including podcasts, blogs, and a helpful community based app, all designed to support you in your healing process. You are not alone, and we are here to walk alongside you.
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Many families find themselves ready to engage in small group support after 90 days. At Red Bird Ministries, we know how essential these connections are, so we keep our small groups limited to create a comfortable and supportive space.
While we occasionally gather as a larger community, we ensure that participants are grouped according to their children’s ages or their relationships with their loved ones, fostering deeper connections and shared experiences.
Red Bird provides a range of support options, such as virtual and in-person formats, including retreats, small groups, prayer, and grief work opportunities. We're here to accompany you on this journey, offering compassion and encouragement at every step.
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If you have experienced the heartbreaking loss of your child or a loved one in a traumatic manner, it is our strong recommendation that you seek one-on-one trauma therapy prior to engaging in group support.
Red Bird Ministries is a compassionate, peer-led ministry that utilizes powerful storytelling and personal experiences to effectively guide our families through the difficult and painful valleys of loss. Professionals are invited into in-person retreats and workshops, and sometimes through virtual offerings.
If you find yourself grappling with PTSD, burdened by intrusive thoughts, or holding onto memories that urgently need healing, we are here to assist you with a referral to a qualified therapist in your community who can provide the support you need.
Your healing is important to us, and we are here to guide you along your journey of healing.
Red Bird Ministries serves ordinary families
who have been given an extraordinary cross to carry.
Red Bird Ministries grief support focuses on those who are carrying the heavy cross of child loss including: miscarriage, stillbirth, and after birth as an infant, child, adolescent, and adult child.
Red Bird Ministries helps parents to understand grief, how to navigate through it, and how to take practical measures to begin the healing process. No matter the stage of grief our families are in, our programs will guide families to find healing and restoration through the beautiful gifts of Our Mother Church.
Need support now? Subscribe to the Red Bird Community App for instant access to care.
Find healing, community, and personalized support through a Catholic grief platform created especially for families walking through the loss of a child. Here, faith holds you close, compassion walks beside you, and no one grieves alone.
Did you know that Red Bird Ministries has 6 prayer sessions on the Hallow App?
You can find us by visiting the Hallow app and searching the mental health section for child loss, or click below.
Find a Red Bird Ministries parish community near you.
At the support of the Catholic Church and Catholic Families, Red Bird Ministry Advocates are forming chapters across the USA. Browse the chapter directory below.
Bereavement Gifts
Gifts that say “I’m thinking of you”, “Hang in there”, or simply “You are loved”.
For a loved one – or yourself! – To remember your child or loved one, and during a season of grief.
Commission a Personalized Family Portrait
At Red Bird Ministries, we understand that families are so much bigger than just the children we can see. That’s why we’re sharing Rachel Eligon’s beautiful artistic mission with all our families. Use the button below to request a custom family portrait by Rachel, showing all your children- here and in eternity.
Formerly a storyboard artist in the Hollywood animation industry, Rachel Eligon felt called to use her artistic gifts in a new way following a sudden job loss and the traumatic miscarriage of her first son, Jude. Art, always an outlet for her, now took on a new dimension and became a way to pray when she no longer had the words. She now works primarily on Catholic projects, including the official prayer card of the Pasadena Eucharistic Revival and the upcoming Catholic short film, Parasol, and sells her original paintings, many born of her wrestle with grief and faith, on her Etsy shop. It is her prayer that her work might provide a glimpse of hope and healing for those who have suffered deeply, particularly those who have also suffered the loss of a child. Read more on her website.
The Family Support Healing Box
A tender, faith-filled gift for families grieving the loss of a child. Each box is thoughtfully curated with comforting keepsakes and spiritual resources that offer love, hope, and healing when words aren’t enough. Whether given in support or received in sorrow, these boxes serve as gentle companions on the journey toward restoration.
Here are the first gentle steps you can take to begin receiving the care, connection, and spiritual support your heart needs—starting today.
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1. Download Our App
You are welcome to join the first Catholic-focused grief support app and community haven for families of child loss to find solace and resources
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2. Schedule a Comfort Call
Comfort Calls allows our families to be comforted during their most difficult times in grief. Schedule today and let us love you through your grief.
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3. Spiritual Direction
Spiritual Direction allows our families to be spiritually guided through the complexity of the spiritual life, and to work through the obstacles that grief tends to create.
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4. Find a Chapter
Attend a Grief Support Group Lead by a Red Bird Ministries Chapter Leader or attend a Couples Workshop. If there is not a Chapter in your area, please reach out to us to chat.
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5. Get Grief Tips
Getting good grief support shouldn’t be hard. Sign up today and get customized grief tips texted directly to your cell phone.
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6. Stay Connected
If you want to know when our next grief event is both in-person and virtually, sign up for our Grief Events by clicking below.
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7. Couples Workshop
Our workshops are designed for grieving couples and lead by grieving couples. We partner like losses so that our families can find commonality and similarities in other families’ stories.
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8. Attend a Restored Retreat
A Grieving Mother’s Retreat for women who have experienced any form of child loss are invited, including miscarriage, stillbirth, and the loss of an infant child, adolescent, or adult child.
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9. Attend a Follow Me Retreat
A Grieving Dad’s Retreat, for men who have experienced any form of child loss, are invited including miscarriage, stillbirth, and the loss of an infant child, adolescent, or adult child.
Church Pathway
Click here to find out if your diocese/parish is a Red Bird Ministries Chapter/Flock. Contact the diocese or parish leader for information, obtain materials, and meet with a group leader for support information.
Become a Leader
Order Materials here
If your church is not yet a Red Bird Ministries parish flock, please make an introduction to your pastor or bishop. Red Bird Ministries partners with the diocese or parish to bring support to the families in your area. Parish Proposal
How to help a friend who is grieving?
The Catholic Church's teaching of the Spiritual Works of Mercy #4 “To comfort the sorrowful.” It is an act of love to help another person in any kind of sorrow and to refrain from doing anything that would unnecessarily cause another person more sorrow.
We offer a FREE 30-day series resource for friends and family members of child loss. It is to help those near and dear to the parents, with the opportunity to support them on their journey as they begin to heal. The resources are broken up into nuggets of information with a short little contemplation to take along with you.
When you sign up for the series, you will receive an email from us daily for 30 days with this content.
Want to help your friend, but don’t know what you can do?
Organize a meal train to ensure your friends have a home-cooked meal while they are in the midst of grief.
Companion Couples: Serving Through Witness
Red Bird Ministries’ Companion Couples serve Christ and the Church by leading local RBM Chapters and Flocks initiatives. They act as spokespersons within their own communities, dioceses, and regions—inviting couples into the RBM experience to find support, guidance, and hope on their journey toward restoration and healing. Watch the video to learn more about the role and impact of Companion Couples.
Come Visit the House of Grace!
Are you nearby? We invite you to visit us at the House of Grace in Breaux Bridge, LA—a sacred space created for families walking through grief. Purchased purely on faith and the prompting of God, this home is a haven for hearts in sorrow.
We long to welcome you face-to-face, heart-to-heart. Here, you can rest, reflect, and receive love breathed in by other families of loss—those who understand, who have walked this road, and who now offer comfort through Christ.
Red Bird Team
We understand the grief all to well. The founders and core team have all experienced child loss and other deaths in the family. Each one of our team members is committed to serving individuals and couples who have lost someone they love, including those who have experienced the loss of a child from pregnancy through adulthood, and those who have lost a spouse or parent. We are here for you!
Kelly Breaux
President
kelly@redbird.love
Ryan Breaux
Vice President
ryanb@redbird.love
Elizabeth Leon Director of Family Support elizabeth@redbird.love
Rachel Boulanger
Executive Assistant
rachel@redbird.love
Brittany Primeaux
Mothers of Loss Mentor Leader
teamsupport@redbird.love
Anna Gowasack
Director of Psychological Services
anna@redbird.love
Pam Stanford
Leader Formation
pamjr65@gmail.com
Kathy Purpera
Spiritual Director
kpurpera@icloud.com
Edith Ray Counseling Advisor hello@redbird.love
“Never could I have imagined that just weeks after having a baby shower for my cousin Victoria, we would be planning a funeral. Victoria was 36 weeks pregnant when her baby had cardiac failure. Sadness overcame the entire family as we waited with her after the doctors induce labor.
For family members, it is unimaginable to understand the grief our loved ones are experiencing, and the only way to be there is to discern how best I support her. I knew that I could make phone calls, contact our parish priest, and help with planning the funeral services. It was very overwhelming, to say the least. I happened to be working with Kelly Breaux on a Red Bird Ministries project. At this point, I was just learning the organization's mission and purpose. God works in mysterious ways, I went from providing professional services to receiving guidance and support when my family needed it most.
You read the statistics, you know there are support groups and organizations but I experienced first hand that there is no single resource that adequately guides a family who has lost someone. This is where Red Bird Ministries steps in, the organization does not only focus on the individual or couple who've experienced loss, they provide guidance to family members because child loss affects every family member, we all grieve together!
Red Bird Ministries was a huge blessing for my family, and Victoria's heart continues to heal. We remember our sweet baby boy and we will never forget the love and prayers that covered our family during this unimaginable moment.”
— Karla Alfaro: Red Bird Ministries Graphic Design Consultant