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The Town of Yarmouth getting to work quickly to organize support sessions for families grieving loved ones lost at sea this week.
Yarmouth Mayor Pam Mood says while the community is known for its resiliency and ability to move forward in the face of tragedy, it’s not the time to try move past the devastation.
“Now is the time for people to grieve, to cry, to feel, to be angry,” she said. “The best way to do that is through a process. So I’ve reached out to Bertha Brannen, she’s a grief recovery specialist, she’s gratefully agreed to work with the family members of those who were lost, and the friends, folks that need that.”
The Mayor notes that in a year already filled with devastation and loss, this week’s events cut deep.
“We have been dealt blow, after blow, after blow, year after year and in particular this year has just…punched us so hard that it’s hard to get up,” she said. “But again, I will say this. We are a resilient community but what is most important right now is that we just have to live in the moment. We have to understand that this is where we are. It’s a tragedy that every single person in a fishing community knows that this can happen – but we pray and we pray and we pray that it never does,” she continued.
“Now that it has, we have to allow people to feel it and to grieve in their own way. The best thing that each of us can do is just make sure these families know that we are here,” she said.
“What do you need? Do you need a hot meal, do you need to talk, do you need a phone call, do you need us to leave you alone?”, she offered.
“This community, unlike anything I’ve ever seen in my life, comes together for those in need and we will do it again this time.”
Brannen will begin helping families this Saturday and Monday at a private space at the Rodd Grand Hotel.
Sessions are one-on-one.
To reach out and arrange a meeting, phone Bertha Brannen at 902-740-2146.
