Social group to help the widowed navigate grief

A SOCIAL group for widows and widowers is meeting monthly at different locations across the city.

Carolyn Gower and Susan Begbie started Ballarat Area Widowed Group four years ago, wanting to offer something similar to what they had experienced in Melbourne.

Gower said that according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Census there were more than one million widowed Australians in 2021, and about 5,000 in Ballarat.

“What we found, being widowed, is that it’s a really lonely and isolating experience,” she said.

“There’s a statistic that says widowed people lose 70 per cent of their circle around them.

“So you find yourself feeling really lonely and isolated, and without support around you, you don’t know where to turn.”

Gower said community was really important in widowhood, and that a social occasion with like-minded people offered such an opportunity for connection.

“If you want to talk about your grief, you can,” she said. “If you want to talk about your late partner, you can.

“If you don’t want to, you don’t have to, but it’s about feeling really understood and welcome in a place where everyone there gets it.”

She said people from Geelong and Melbourne attended.

“It’s a social gathering and…you can share as much or as little as you like,” she said.

“And it’s not a morbid group like some people would expect.

“When people see us they might comment we’re a fun group and are quite surprised to learn we’re all widowed.”

The Ballarat Area Widowed Group’s next outing is at Lazy Moe’s on Saturday 18 July at noon.

For more information, phone 0437 911 704.