Woman starts group to deal with grief

April 24, 2014 at 12:00a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

Georgia West remembers the immediate days after her 28-year-old son Ivan was murdered last September, and all the people who told her they would be there for her if she needed them.

The only problem: After a few days, they weren’t there anymore.

So West started going to a group helping people deal with grief in Columbiana County, until she decided to start one of her own closer to the city for people who are having trouble dealing with the loss of a loved one.

The group, “Survivors Of Our Grief,” will have its first meeting at 5:30 p.m. May 5 at Grace Evangelistic Temple, 1026 Shehy Ave.

“I found so many people, when death occurs, they’re right there,” West said. “But as time moves on, they’re gone.”

West said the group is open to all people experiencing the death of a loved one no matter the cause, whether it be by violence or natural causes.

West said that the group in Columbiana County was a blessing for her because by talking about her son, she talked about the feelings she had about his death, and that in turn helped her deal with them and feel better.

Ivan West died after being stabbed in a Hilton Avenue apartment on the South Side. A man was arrested in his death and is awaiting trial.

Georgia West said she already has been meeting with people and praying for them, and she wants to continue to do that and help others as well.

A lot of times, people who are grieving have tough questions, and sometimes they blame God or ask why their loved one was allowed to die. She said that those questions are normal, and yet sometimes people beat themselves for thinking those thoughts.

West said she wants to tell people that those thoughts are part of the normal grief process. There is nothing wrong with having questions, she said.

She said she believes God is trying to use her to help other people through the group who are going through the exact same thing she is going through.

“I believe God laid this on my heart because we know we’re survivors, but still we grieve,” West said.