Mary Bart fully comprehends the pain, sorrow and stress of dealing with parents in declining health and vitality. Her father died of cancer in 2005 and her mother died of Alzheimer’s in 2008. Mary was her parents’ principal caregiver for ten years. She gained first-hand experience in helping her aging parents, dealing with family dynamics, and working with public and private organizations. Determined to help others dealing with those same problems, Mary started the registered charity Losing Our Parents.
Mary Bart
“We watch the decline in a parent’s physical and mental health, years before death actually occurs,” says Bart. “Many people are grieving while still caring for their parents and feel isolated, vulnerable, and overwhelmed. We see three stages of losing a parent: declining health; only a few months left; and passed away.”
“There are a wide variety of resources and support systems for our parents, but far fewer solely dedicated to us, their adult children. The goal of Losing Our Parents is to reach out and support people as they deal with their own parents’ situations. This is a very stressful chapter in our lives and we are determined to help.”
Losingourparents.com is an internet-based community that offers support and education to people who are coping with the declining health or death of a parent. Visitors to the website share their experiences, support each other and even volunteer online through a network that connects them to countless others.
The website meets the needs of those who do not have the time, interest or financial resources to join traditional sharing / grieving programs. Anyone can participate and receive peer support, whether at home, work or school, in a hospital or at an internet café. As people go through this difficult chapter in their lives, each will have personal experiences they can share with others. Different sections of the site encourage input at all three stages of coping with a parents’ declining health, their dying, and their deaths.
The second phase of the website launched this spring. It includes an online "virtual garden" where people are invited to place a rose in a garden, light a candle, and add memories about their parents’ lives. The goal is to have a garden full of roses.
“Losing Our Parents” was formed by a volunteer Board of Directors composed of business, health, and social work professionals. The Board developed a strategic plan that will help people all over the world through its interactive website and organized group retreats. We invite and encourage people from all countries and backgrounds to share, learn and support each other. “Losing Our Parents” is after all a universal, timeless issue.
Sponsorship of the website is provided by The Ontario Trillium Foundation, Spark Internet Marketing, Design & Develop, Shoppers Drug Mart, and the GlaxoSmithKline Foundation. Mary says that “with their help we are able to have the website and help people all over the world. Please drop by for a visit, share your story, and plant a rose.”
A charity for our times, because of our times: www.losingourparents.com
