Support Group Forming for Grief Recovery After a Substance Passing

When my 18-year-old daughter, Candice Norton, died of a drug overdose on February 15, 2005, I was devastated, lost, and my grief was overpowering.

Candice was born in Grossmont Hospital and raised here in La Mesa.  She played La Mesa Bobby Sox year round and was one of the fastest pitchers on her All Star Teams!

She was the oldest sister to my 5 children and had a heart of gold.  She loved and protected her brother and sisters. Encouraging them in whatever they were trying to accomplish as well. She spent many hours with her disable brother in therapy helping to teach him to sit, stand and walk.

She attended Grossmont High School with her sister. Candice bragged about her younger sister’s ability to sing in the choir and play on Softball team. She loved her family. She danced like no one was watching her!

Her laughter was contagious and her smile lit up the room. She didn’t come from a bad home or a terrible childhood. Although a wonderful person inside, she was given free will.

Some years later, Candice was with a bad crowd and ate some Methamphetamine. Due to one horrible choice which led her down a bad path, her life ended in the ICU of Grossmont Hospital.  The very place she started this life.  I loved her when she came into this world.  I held her, still loving her dearly, as she left!  Needless to say, this tragedy changed my family and me forever.

Having nowhere to turn, I found a group called GRASP – Grief Recovery After a Substance Passing.  This group was originally started in 2002 by Russ and Pat Wittberger, who lost their daughter, Jennifer, in 1994 the same way I lost Candice. 

I spoke with Pat once, several years ago.  Somehow we lost touch and I found GRASP again.  It is now run by Gary and Denise Cullen, and they started a Facebook online support network which has been incredibly helpful! 

Here I have found non-judgmental support and understanding from others who have lost their child, or some other loved one to this terrible disease.

There are many types of support groups for grieving people.  Those who have lost loved ones to suicide, accidents, other illnesses and even murder.  But before GRASP, there was nothing for people who have suffered my loss.

I am forming the La Mesa/San Diego Chapter of GRASP to provide a source of help, compassion and understanding for others like me.  Much of what I have learned from being part of GRASP, especially on Faceook, is that I am able to help others as much as they help me.

San Diego, one of the most desirable places to live in the United States, is rife with drug abuse, addictive illness and an epidemic of overdose deaths.  We are among so very many communities suffering from this and we are losing our young people, especially, at an alarming rate.  I know this from personal experience.

The La Mesa Courier wrote an article about Candice and me just this month. 

They announced that I would be forming a Chapter of GRASP.  They also asked the community to help me find a meeting place for our monthly meeting. Within days I received three calls from new members of the new GRASP group and emails offering space for our monthly meeting. 

I will soon be announcing the address and times.  These new members are from our small area and I sadly welcome them, glad they are no longer alone.

For more information about the GRASP organization, you can visit their website, www.grasphelp.org or contact Denise Cullen at 760-262-8612.  If you live nearby, or know someone who does who would benefit from this newly forming chapter, please contact me at 619-793-8958 or at shawnmnorton@yahoo.com