PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Losing someone you love can change everything.
For Stacey Comer, that loss came in 2018 when her husband, Chris, died following complications from a kidney transplant.
WATCH ‘You Are Not Alone’: PSL woman turns grief into community for others
As she learned to navigate life without him, Comer also began to notice there wasn't one central place on the Treasure Coast where people experiencing grief could go to find support, resources and connection.
She started asking herself a simple question: “Why isn't there an entity where all of this lives under?”
That question became the foundation for Chris’s Place, a free, in-person grief support community Comer is now creating on the Treasure Coast.
Comer said grief can be difficult to understand until you experience it yourself. She added that while friends and family often want to help, people who are grieving can still feel isolated.
“You only sort of know it if you're in the club, and when you're in the club everyone wants to be so supportive and helpful,” Comer said.
Chris’s Place is intended to give people a place to connect with others who understand what they're going through.
The community is not limited to people who have lost a spouse or immediate family member. Comer wants it to be available to anyone who has experienced a loss and needs support navigating what comes next.
Right now, Comer is creating Chris’s Place from the ground up.
Her long-term vision is to create a physical space on the Treasure Coast — somewhere that feels comfortable and welcoming, where people can gather, find resources and connect with others who understand grief.
“You are not alone. You feel alone because you think you're the only one feeling it, but you're not,” Comer said.
For Comer, Chris’s Place is rooted in the loss of her husband — but she hopes it can become something much bigger.
She wants other people on the Treasure Coast to have the kind of support she realized was missing during her own journey through grief.
The ultimate goal is to create a community where people don't have to navigate that journey by themselves. While grief may look different for everyone, Comer wants people to know one thing: They don't have to face it alone.
For more information on the next free community grief meet-up, visit their website.
