After care is a vitally important service that O'Brien-Straatmann Funeral Home and Cremations provides for families who have lost loved ones. People in our society have often become too busy to support the grieving. They expect them to forget their loss and move on with life. Those who are grieving are left behind to silently mourn without the support they need and deserve at this time.

At the death of a loved one, people find that their world has suddenly turned upside down, leaving them in a state of confusion, shock and pain that may be with them for months or even years, as they work through a process of recovery.

Grief recovery occurs in four stages. The first stage is acceptance of reality that the loved one is gone and will not return. Second, they must fully experience the pain of grief, including the physical, emotional and behavioral pain associated with loss. Third, they learn to adjust to the environment and live peacefully without their loved one. The last stage of the grieving process is an emotional withdrawal from the loved one, so that their energy may be reinvested fully into life again.

In order to help families through their grief O'Brien-Straatmann Funeral Home and Cremations has implemented the STAR (Special Time to Always Remember) program for our children at the time of a death. It teaches the children, besides answering many of their questions honestly about the death of their loved one. This program gives them a way to express their grief and saying goodbye. Besides the STAR program, we have also started a program for children who have lost a newborn sibling. The videotape gives them a chance to identify their feelings, encourages them to share their feeling and to reconcile with the loss. O'Brien-Straatmann Funeral Home and Cremations has a Certified Grief Counselor on staff to provide support to individuals and families. We provide a Grief Support group that meets at 6:00 p.m. on the first Wednesday of each month at the Funeral Home.