Compassionate Friends of Goulburn's Walk to Remember

When Chris Hardwicke lost his daughter four years ago he was consumed by grief, so he turned to the internet for support.

"I struggled desperately to try and find other parents and other groups that would understand," Mr Hardwicke said.

That was how he found the Compassionate Friends, a not-for-profit organisation that offers friendship and understanding to families grieving the death of a child.

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The charity has over 30 chapters and 1000 members in NSW, including six in Goulburn.

On the weekend of Saturday, October 22 they will gather to raise awareness and walk in memory of their children.

"It's an orgnaisation that people shy away from. They don't particularly want to know about it and they definitely don't want to belong to it," Mr Hardwicke said.

"[The event is] a chance for us to walk proudly and say to the world: 'Our children lived, this was their lives, we still carry them, they are not forgotten and, if you ever have to join our ranks, we will be there for you.'."

Mr Hardwicke said the Compassionate Friends monthly meetings are a peer support group for people who have lived a shared life experience.

"It's not a counselling session. It's for people who understand the trauma and the devastation that comes with losing a child," he said.

"We treat each other with mutual respect and mutual time so that we can all listen to each other's story."

Mr Hardwicke said grief is an individual experience and, when both parents are grieving, it can be hard to share.

"Because you don't want your grief to further pain the grief of your loved one," he said.

When his daughter died, Mr Hardwicke struggled to find the support he was looking for.

"I couldn't really find anything that was resonating with me," he said.

That was until a friend referred him to the Compassionate Friends of Goulburn.

"I felt that I could cry my heart out and tell them my story and no one would judge me," Mr Hardwick said.

"For a guy that was really hard. But this is a place where you can tell your story without any judgement or pressure, and without feeling guilty about upsetting another family member."

Mr Hardwicke and his wife share elements of their grief, but are conscious of it as an individual journey.

"It's a balancing act because you don't want to bring the other person down," Mr Hardwicke said.

Mr Hardwicke says the Compassionate Friends group is not for everyone.

"It's not always the way that people want support. For some people that group sharing doesn't work," he said.

"My wife is very supportive of my involvement but it's not for her. We both grieve very differently."

However, Compassionate Friends offers a service and support that Mr Hardwicke said, people need to know about.

"This is about increasing awareness. We're not looking to raise money," Mr Hardwicke said.

"The walk is something we're doing to support our families, and to show [the community] that if any family is unfortunate enough to lose a child, we will be there to support them."

The inaugural Walk to Remember is a closed event for family and family supporters. However, community members are encouraged to turn out and show support.

"They can talk to us, and they can ask us about our children," Mar Hardwicke said.

He said that people shy away from sadness and in doing so avoid talking about the child.

"[The walk is] an acknowledgement of that and a chance for people to show that they are prepared to stay with someone as they talk about their child ... because that is a huge commodity for a grieving parent," Mr Hardwicke said.

The Compassionate Friends of Goulburn Walk to Remember is at 10am on Saturday, October 22 at Marsden Weir.

On Sunday, October 23 members from groups across NSW will gather in Sydney to walk from Milson Park to the Botanic Gardens. For information visit the Compassionate Friends website.