EMOTIONAL & MENTAL HEALTH FOR WIDOWS
Did you know the Holmes-Rahe Stress and Social Readjustment Scale, which Modern Widows Club references when stating that loss of a spouse is the #1 most stressful life event at 100 stress points, also gives “major holiday” 12 points?
We held our annual “Wister Wonderland” holiday party for our St. Louis community members the first weekend of December. We created this event last year to try and bring some joy to what can be a terribly painful time of year for widows and their children, as family- and faith-based holidays approach along with the new year. A local volunteer Santa and Mrs. Claus are available for family photos at the party, in an environment where it is safe to acknowledge that, in our photos, our family doesn’t look like it used to. We offer a “Wister Shop” where a widow’s children, family, friends, or another Wister can shop for them, then wrap a gift to put under the tree that they didn’t have to purchase and wrap for themselves.
Of …
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