TCF — Free Bereaved Parents Peer Support Tampa Bay, FL
The Compassionate Friends of Tampa Bay (TCF Tampa Bay) is a free, peer-led support community for bereaved parents, grandparents, and adult siblings grieving the death of a child of any age, from any cause, at any time. Part of the national Compassionate Friends network and serving the Tampa Bay area, the chapter has been meeting consistently for years and remains entirely free, with no insurance, diagnosis, or referral required to attend.
What to Expect
TCF Tampa Bay meets in person on the first Thursday of each month at 7:00 p.m. at Brandon Christian Church, 910 Bryan Road, Brandon, FL 33511 — easily reachable from across the Tampa Bay metro. The chapter also holds a virtual grief support meeting on the third Thursday of each month from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. via Zoom, for members who cannot travel or who prefer to participate from home. Sessions are facilitated by trained bereaved-parent peer leaders who have completed The Compassionate Friends’ chapter leadership training. There is no clinician, no required curriculum, and no expectation to speak. The format follows the long-established TCF model of confidential peer sharing with check-in, open conversation, and shared experience as the foundation.
Who This Group Is For
Bereaved parents, grandparents, and adult siblings whose child, grandchild, or sibling has died. All ages of loss and all causes are welcome — sudden, anticipated, infant, adult, accidental, illness, suicide, overdose. Newly bereaved families and long-term members sit together; both bring something to the room. Members come from across Hillsborough and surrounding counties.
Why Peer Support Works
The loss of a child reshapes a family in ways that are hard to convey to people who have not lived it. Meeting monthly with others who have, in person or on Zoom, allows grief to be witnessed rather than performed. Many TCF members describe the chapter as the only place they can speak their child’s name out loud without watching the room flinch — a small thing that turns out to matter enormously over the years grief takes to settle.
How to Join
Meetings are free and open enrollment; no advance registration is required for in-person attendance. For the Zoom link or to confirm the next meeting date, contact Debbie at (813) 690-4448 or tampacompassionatefriends@gmail.com. More information is at tampabaycompassionatefriends.org. The national Compassionate Friends 24/7 helpline is also available at (877) 969-0010 for anyone needing immediate peer support between meetings.