Endorsement

Elaine Gibson

I have been a member of WPAC™ for almost 7 years. It has been the very best thing I’ve ever done. The love and support from everyone has been life changing. The games, travel and the wonderful people I have met continually show me that I can move on and enjoy my life again. Words cannot express my gratitude.

Elaine Gibson

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Bonnie Wright

WPAC™ is a great place to start after loss of your loved one.  They will give you the support and help you like they did me.  I enjoy the friends I’ve met there, card games and travel.

 

Thank you

Bonnie Wright

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Mike Kurtz

Allyson passed in October 2016. l was not ready for her passing, but who is? Allyson had Ovarian Cancer that returned. First, after her death, I was in shock and then I got angry and isolated myself from everybody including my family. As a recluse I watched TV ate and slept. That was about all. I was in a hole. I felt that there was no reason to continue on, I wanted to be with Allyson. This scared me. I reached out to a bereavement group for help, but found that my grief was not the same as others in the group, I had not lost my dog. Lucky for me that the facilitators understood my situation. One of the facilitators named Pam, hugged me and said that she knew of the right group for me, and if I came to the group on Sunday afternoon she would give me another hug. I did, she did, and l joined WPAC the next week. I had found where people understood me and could help me as peers. I felt safe letting out my story and tears.

Since then I have become one of the facilitators and have been honored to present in Grief Recovery Workshops. I am able to share my experiences and my Post Traumatic Growth (PTG).

Regards,
Mike Kurtz
8/15/2019

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Yolanda Halik

How do I begin? When I started this ”journey” as a new widow, I couldn’t speak, much less know my name, or what day it was. My beloved husband passed away suddenly. There wasn’t any warning, there weren’t any signs. And
yet, a vibrant man who was yet to even discuss retirement was gone. Forever.

Each day following, I walked and talked but couldn’t understand my reality. My beloved was gone. Forever. Then one morning, I sent an email to a dear friend who lost his wife 4 years earlier. ” When, I asked him, does the pain go away?” He gently told me that it never does, but it will get “softer.” During that conversation, he kindly invited me to come to a Support Meeting for widowed people which just so happened would have been that afternoon.

I walked in the door, was greeted by knowing hugs, and I felt comfort. I felt safe. I could cry, I could be silent, and I just listened to heart wrenching stories; similar, different, but all the same. Each person in that room lost their beloved. Forever. Each person was coping, moving forward, and helping those of us that couldn’t reconcile the facts that were before us. Our beloved had died.

That was over a year ago. Today, I am living again. The pain has subsided but still comes and goes. I am looking forward to a positive future, and l have made many friends. I am laughing, and I am active in many of the activities, as well as giving back by being an office worker where my talents can be used. I look forward to each day, and grateful that I took that first step and walked into the Widowed Person’s Assn. of California to attend Sunday Support.

Yolanda Halik
Widowed: April 28, 2018

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Marcia Palmer

l have been a member of WPAC since 2004. I came to the organization at the suggestion of my Hospice Counselor. l was still teaching and had no more sick leave. My husband died of brain cancer after a lengthy battle. My house was in terrible condition after my husband’s lengthy illness and I was low on funds. I went to WPAC because people understood the situation and gave me guidance and ideas for coping skills so I could continue working and not lose my home. I did not have family support in Sacramento so WPAC became a family to me.

One member even helped me purchase a new automobile as mine was about 20 years old and needed to go. It took 12 hours to find and purchase a new car. I had never purchased a new car on my own as I had married at 21 and before that my Dad got my car. There are so many things that people are dependent on their mates for and the widows and widowers help each other. Thanks to WPAC l was able to continue teaching inner-city sixth graders and a few even came to my class and gave me support. i am forever grateful for this organization and will do all loan to keep it thriving.

When I was off work I became very involved in volunteering and activities. WPAC gave me meaningful friendship and support that other friends and family could not. i have been a greeter, facilitator and have presented In Grief
Workshops. I have done holiday gatherings for widowed persons as holidays are particularly painful.

Sincerely,
Marcia Palmer
8/15/2019

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Chuck Beaver

When l was at work one day, my wife of 42 years had cardiac arrest. Hours later I walked in the door from our garage and found her body. At that point l felt apart emotionally. Because of the symptoms and experiences l was having, it seemed as if I was going crazy, and i had no reason left to live.

A worried friend told me how Widowed Persons Association helped her daughter’s best friend’s mother after her husband died, and she urged me to go there. At first I resisted, but after days of more urging on her part. I finally attended my first meeting of the Grief Recovery Workshop. At the that first session of that free program I realized that thinking l was going crazy was typical for a widowed person. That all volunteer organization helped me see that life was still worth living and possibly saved my life.

Chuck Beaver

 

 

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Guy C. Klitgaard

The Widowed Persons Association of California (WPAC) appeals to a wide variety of people with many different interests and needs, but who all share the common condition of widowhood. The loss of a loved one is difficult, but how one copes depends on a lot of different things. For example, some cannot conceive of how to live without their lost partner, some are alone to face the grieving, while others are surrounded and/or supported by family. Some are still working and around others daily, while others are not and often not prepared to handle all the things that come up and must be addressed with the situation.

WPAC can be of great help for those having a hard time dealing with widowhood as well as for those who generally get through the grieving process without too much difficulty but who are lost regarding where to go from here with their lives. This basically refers to individuals like me. I came into WPAC because I met someone who was involved who spoke highly of the organization. It was really an eye opening experience and I have become an enthusiastic member.

I had no idea such an organization existed and it was hard to believe the wide variety of services and assistance WPAC provided. The Recovery Workshops and Support Groups meet on a regular basis to provide entry level members the immediate services needed to help them through a most difficult time. These are most important and exceptional. A helping hand when one is lost is a blessing indeed and something that is as impressive as what is provided by WPAC needs widespread praise and acknowledgement.

The individuals I met in my initial contacts were warm and friendly and provided a lot of social interaction. Being social animals we all need that, some more than others, but we often do not know where to start or look for such help, particularly if we are new to the area or of, “ahem,” advanced age. There seemed to be activities for everyone, but also an openness to develop other activities should individuals indicate an interest in something not currently on the slate. I jumped in with both feet and made many friends in various activities like dancing, dinners, and short trips here and there. The effect was to move on with my life, to find joy and interest in things again and get back into a mode I think my lost loved one would hope for me. We only have one life to live as far as I can tell, so l believe it should be lived to the fullest and how lucky we are when, after a great loss, we can find an organization that is essentially dedicated to doing just that.

Guy C. Klitgaard
November 2020

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Kevin Williams

My name is Kevin Williams and lam a member of a very special group of volunteers who’s goal is to help all those that have lost their spouse’s and have been traumatized by this event. I myself lost my wife of 33 years to breast cancer at the age of 52 and although I received counseling from both Hospice and from my medical provider l became a lost soul and very depressed. l was still working at that time and would go to work only to come home to an empty house full of memories. l felt as if my world had ended until by chance I read about a Non profit group named the Widowed Persons Association of California hereby shortened to WPAC. l started attending their Sunday support meetings which are conducted by fellow widower’s (with guidelines developed by professional grief counselor’s) and began my slow recovery. l have lost many family and friends over the years but losing your spouse is not the same and for many, recovery can take years. l started to become gradually better able to deal with my grief and as l shared my recovery with other widowers found I was able to assist others with their recovery as well. This led me to become a volunteer grief recovery facilitator shortly after my first year of becoming a member of WPAC. As i regained my confidence and began a new life l joined the Rascals, a performing group that is part of the re socialization aspect of WPAC (mostly seniors) becoming their sound engineer. This history is just to let you know how and where i came from and a small amount of the value provided by WPAC to the community as a whole.

Once l became established as the sound guy I began going thru the mostly donated old sound equipment and patched it together in an attempt to provide a decent sound quality for our members to enjoy. it was during my first show with the Rascals that i realized that not only was this equipment worn out but it was inadequate to provide a decent sound that could be heard in the back of the Dante clubs main ballroom. lt was then that I began to purchase a modern sound system capable of not only being able to be heard thru out the hall but having a sound quality that all could enjoy regardless of whether or not they had hearing aids. l have done this with my own equipment for 6 plus years at my own expense with out any form of payment from WPAC as we are not a for profit group and we are nearly completely all volunteer with little funds left over.

l am going to be moving in the beginning of next year and will no longer be able to provide my equipment as l will be using it in my new hometown although l do intend to retain my yearly membership to WPAC to assist in keeping the doors open for those who are yet to become widowed and will need many of the services provided. (most at no cost) l am providing a list of needed sound equipment that l implore you to consider funding for this highly worthwhile organization that has served thousands of widowers at no cost for the Sunday support group (every Sunday including holidays) and the 6 week Grief Recovery Workshops that are held 4 times a year. To my knowledge there are no other groups or associations that have been able to assist recently or still grieving widowers in a peer volunteer system where many (including myself) have become an extended family and feel that WPAC has saved our lives and given joy when none could be found.

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Contact

Phone: (916) 972-9722

Office Hours:
M - W - F    10 am - 1 pm

Email: wpac1@sacwidowed.org

Mailing Address:
2628 El Camino Avenue Suite D-18
Sacramento, CA 95821

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Widowed Persons Association of California, Sacramento (WPAC™)

 

A non-profit, non-denominational community service organization dedicated to helping widowed men and women overcome grief after the loss of their spouse.

WPAC™ offers Grief Recovery Programs consisting of weekly Sunday Support, and a six-week Grief Recovery Workshop, held 4 times per year. WPAC also offers an extensive Social Activities calendar.

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