My Grief Angels

What My Grief Angels is

My Grief Angels is a free nonprofit dedicated to providing online grief support for people grieving the death of a loved one or anticipating a death. The organization is entirely volunteer-created, developed, and managed by people with their own lived experience of grief. It is explicitly open to all, non-religious, and frames itself as a welcoming community regardless of your background, beliefs, or the nature of your loss. The organization's approach emphasizes that grief is universal and that connection with others who understand it is healing. Unlike therapy or counseling services, My Grief Angels is peer-led: volunteers share their own grief journeys and sit with others experiencing grief, without clinical diagnosis or treatment. The name was inspired by the "Angel of Grief" statue at Stanford University, which itself comes from the university's origin story: Leland and Jane Stanford founded the university as a memorial to their only child, Leland Junior, who died in 1884 at age 15.

How the service is structured

My Grief Angels offers support through multiple formats so people can engage in the way that works for them. The primary offering is online support groups organized by specific loss types and circumstances. General grief support groups run regularly, as do separate groups focused on holiday grief (recognizing that grief intensifies at anniversaries and holidays when others are celebrating). The service offers groups specifically for LGBTQIA people grieving a partner or family member, acknowledging the distinct social context of grief in queer communities. Separate groups serve people with disabilities, understanding that grief can compound existing challenges with accessibility and physical limitations. A group serves people grieving pet loss, recognizing that the death of an animal companion carries genuine grief. The organization also ran dedicated support groups for people affected by the 2024 California fires. Spanish-language groups are available under "Apoyo en Español." All groups are run by trained volunteers using peer support models rather than clinical therapy.

Beyond structured groups, the service offers real-time chat where people can connect anonymously and in the moment. The chat is monitored and volunteer-staffed, providing immediate community when someone is struggling with acute grief. This is separate from the scheduled groups and allows people to reach out at times when they most need it.

My Grief Angels provides extensive educational resources through its "Learn & Free Courses" section, including a program called UGrief (University of Grief). These courses cover grief education topics including understanding different types of grief, recognizing grief attacks and grief hoarding, understanding signs of grief, the relationship between grief and physical health, and self-care during grief. Courses on "Feirg It: Self-Care" specifically address managing grief while prioritizing personal wellbeing. The organization also curates grief-related content in other media formats, including Grief TV recommendations, grief podcasts, and grief playlists. Resources like grief journals and grief scales are available to help people track and process their feelings. There are suggestions for physical practices like "Grief in Motion." The organization recognizes that grief is not only emotional and encourages diverse approaches to processing loss.

Directories and regional resources

My Grief Angels maintains a "Warmlines By State" directory, a state-by-state index for finding warmline services, which are peer-support phone lines usually staffed by people with lived experience (unlike crisis hotlines, warmlines provide supportive listening rather than emergency intervention). The site's own navigation names the directory this way, organized by state, though the captured pages do not list which or how many states are currently included, so its depth of coverage is unconfirmed. The organization also maintains a broader Grief Support Directory with resources beyond warmlines, a Grief Camp Directory for structured in-person grief retreats and intensives, and Support Resources organized by loss type (death of a spouse, child, parent, sibling, suicide loss, death from specific illnesses, sudden loss, and others). A Pre- and Post-Loss Checklist provides practical guidance for people navigating the period before and after a loved one's death. These directories are not referrals the organization makes; they are collections readers can browse and contact directly.

Who runs the groups and what they provide

All support is provided by volunteers, not licensed therapists or counselors. The organization explicitly states this on its website: "Volunteers are not licensed therapists, counselors, or any other type of mental health professional. They are people grieving like yourself and volunteering their time to simply share their own grief journey and be present for others grieving or anticipating the death of a loved one." This matters because it shapes the type of support offered. Volunteers are trained in peer support models, meaning they listen, reflect, and share their own experience, but they do not diagnose, treat, or prescribe interventions. The organization's position is that peer support is different from therapy and has value precisely because it comes from people with lived experience rather than clinical professionals.

Cost and access

All services through My Grief Angels are completely free. There are no fees for joining support groups, attending chat sessions, accessing courses and educational resources, or using the directories. There are no requirements to create an account, pass a screening, or have a referral. Someone can visit the website and join a group or access a resource immediately. The service is online, making it accessible to people who cannot attend in-person groups due to location, mobility limitations, or schedule constraints. The organization emphasizes that grief knows no geography, and free online access removes financial barriers to finding community.

Important boundaries

The organization states clearly that peer support through My Grief Angels is "for general informational purposes and are not a substitute for professional mental health advice, diagnosis, or treatment." People are encouraged to "consult your own mental health professional prior to joining any peer-led grief support group." The organization also notes that free peer-led grief support groups are "not appropriate for everyone," and recommends consulting with a mental health professional to determine if the service is right for you. If someone is currently experiencing suicidal thoughts or thoughts of harming themselves or others, the organization's own site tells them to call or message the Suicide Line at 988 immediately, noting it is open 24/7 and free to all, or to call 911 if 988 cannot be reached. Therapy, diagnosis, and prescription of treatment are not offered through My Grief Angels.

What the organization does not provide

My Grief Angels does not provide emergency crisis services, psychiatric evaluation, medication management, or individual therapy. It does not run grief camps or retreats directly; the Grief Camp Directory is a compiled list for people to explore independently. The organization does not provide financial assistance, legal guidance for grief-related matters, or other practical support services beyond the informational and peer-support offerings. It does not affiliate with any single religious or spiritual tradition, so it does not provide pastoral counseling or spiritual direction specific to one faith.

Who it fits and who it does not

My Grief Angels is an excellent fit for someone newly grieving who wants immediate peer connection and to hear from others who have experienced loss. It serves people in specific communities (LGBTQIA people, people with disabilities, pet owners) who benefit from groups tailored to their experience. It suits anyone outside the US states that offer sufficient in-person grief support, since online access reaches everywhere. It is useful for people grieving at any stage, from anticipatory grief before a death to years into bereavement. Someone looking for professional therapy or counseling should work with a licensed therapist or counselor in parallel; My Grief Angels is peer-led, not clinical. It is not appropriate for someone in acute crisis; that person should contact 988 immediately. It does not replace follow-up care with a healthcare provider if grief is affecting physical health. For someone wanting a highly structured, manualized grief therapy with research-backed outcomes measured against control groups, the peer-support model here differs from that approach. My Grief Angels is best understood as peer community and education, not as treatment.