By Ashley Benkarski
MURFREESBORO, TN — No one should have to grieve the death of someone they love alone, especially when it’s a parent that’s lost a child. Last year, support group Mothers Over Murder (MOM) expanded their services to the Rutherford County area, providing a much-needed system of support for loved ones taken too soon by violence.
The new chapter has had three meetings since its inception last August. They meet on the first Thursday of every month at United Methodist on Thompson Lane in Murfreesboro. The Nashville chapter meets on the fourth Sunday of every month.
MOM is “a healing and action group for mothers and families who have lost loved ones to senseless killings,” their social media bio states.
MOM also has plans to establish chapters in Memphis and Columbia.
The group was established in Davidson County by Clemmie Greenlee, who has experienced the loss of more than one of her loved ones to violence.
Trina Anderson, who lost her son Terrell on his birthday to gun violence in Murfreesboro a few years back, has made it a priority to support those who are feeling the indescribable grief of losing a child to violence. It’s a pain that only someone who’s “been there” can know. And that’s the key to healing.
“We have the same pain,” Anderson said. “It does not matter what took your child from you . . . The pain is the same.”
Anderson said there are several moms in Murfreesboro that have yet to see a resolution in their child’s case. She knows that specific pain, too, as Terrell’s killers have still not been brought to justice.
She also knows that the darkness of grief can be so dense, it’s hard to ask for help. “I didn’t feel like I needed a group,” she recalled. “It took a little while but I did what I needed to do . . . It was a relief.” She said it felt like a burden had been lifted to know someone else felt the same.
That support comes in various forms— a support circle with candles, special trips together, even a WhatsApp chat— to work through the grief. Their most recent meeting observed Valentine’s Day, and members remembered their children with stories of how they celebrated and how they loved their families.
Four years after Terrell’s death, Anderson found Valentine’s Day cards he’d saved from her and his young daughter while she was going through his room. It was a moment that brought Terrell back to her, if only for a few minutes.
To do the work, MOM is looking for donors and sponsors. “You don’t have to have that grief to sponsor. And everyone is welcome to come to our meetings,” she added.
For more information follow the group on social media or visit https://www.nashvillepeacemakers.org/mothers-over-murder.
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