Our Story

Our Story

How my parents story changed after my death

Tuesday, September 4, 2012, was the day that changed our world and the trajectory of my life forever. Nauseous and on my knees, I could not wrap my head around what the police officers and chaplain were telling me as they stood on our front porch. The weird thing is, I knew what it was that I was about to encounter the minute I heard the doorbell ring. Call it mother's intuition; I don't know. All I knew was the events leading up to this moment had me worried, and now Richard wasn't answering his phone, regardless of how many times I hit redial. Nothing can prepare you to hear, "Your son has passed away." It's a parent's worst nightmare.

Where do you begin to restore the broken pieces that the death of a loved one leaves behind? I wondered if I would ever survive losing our son. I couldn't imagine ever finding my way out of what I now know is indescribable grief. It was a dark, scary, hopeless, and suffocating place. In all honesty, I wasn't sure that I even wanted to survive regardless of all the other blessings in my life. My pain was unbearable and frankly just too much. You will never be able to understand this unless you’ve walked through similar darkness after a loved ones death. I clung desperately to God and the support of my amazing husband, Jaime. We began attending weekly counseling sessions and grief support groups. Through the support groups, we connected with other parents who understood our pain because they, too, had experienced the loss of a child. Working through loss takes work and is exhausting!

About 12 months into our new reality, I felt a deep calling to help others experiencing this debilitating path. I wanted others to have immediate resources that weren't available for my family to face this thing called grief. In 2013 we officially became a 501(c)3 nonprofit to begin our work. Approximately six months later in March 2014, we partnered with a professional grief counselor to hold an 8-week grief support workshop for families in our local community struggling with the death of a loved one. The program successfully reached 100% retention throughout the eight weeks. During this time, I was still so new in my grief and attempting to find some sense of hope; others questioned if I was ready to embark on the commitment to provide grief support to others. The thing is, I wasn't. Nor am I still steering this ship—God is! He put this vision and dream into existence. That initial eight-week grief workshop grew into a local grief center named after our late son. With the help of our community, talented and experienced grief counselors who believe in our mission we provide various support services and programs for bereaved children and adults still today.

Having met multitudes of families affected by loss and unable to afford professional support, it is our goal to provide access to affordable grief counseling and free support services to our community.

In 2017 the Estate of Richard Lambert helped Jaime and I purchase a permanent home for the Richard Lambert Foundation Family Grief & Healing Center. We are committed to honoring your loved ones and walking alongside you on your journey.

Every day I carry with me my brokenness, pain, and scars that my son's death left behind as it's woven into my being. It's just different now. I still have moments of "grief attacks"; however, I have found laughter and happiness, and I live life with intention and enjoyment. You can too, and we will be here to support you.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story.

Wishing you peace and comfort,
Susan and Jaime Chavez