The Suddenly Alone Foundation
The Suddenly Alone Foundation (The Nagle Sami Foundation) was founded after the personal experience of Olga Morawska – founder, mother of two boys, marketing manager at a large publishing company, author of travel books. The tragic situation that happened in Olga’s life was the loss of her husband Piotr. In 2009 the renowned Alpine climber died tragically in the Himalayas. It was hard for her to grasp that she had suddenly lost her love and had become a widow.
When the mourning period ended, Olga decided that she would like to help people who experience similar situations of loss. Until recently Poland did not have an organization which would offer people psychological and legal assistance after they had lost someone close.
Every day people lose loved ones. This has a profound effect on their lives. People who have experienced a sudden tragic loss often go down the same paths and have the same experiences. Family and people close to them try to pull together in order to make the process of the loss easier. Often there is no support available to them, and they face immense sadness and a period of mourning by themselves. Our Foundation is about sharing experiences, so that others will not be alone. After the War in Ukraine started we provide psychosocial help for Refugees. In our understanding, refugees are people who have lost the most: loved ones, home, sense of security.
The mission of the Foundation is to give people hope and strength as they go through the difficult period of bereavement. And to give them a space to grieve, to help connect with others who have experienced something similar, and to assist them in getting the information and help they may need. Every day the Foundation works with professionals with wide ranging knowledge and experience, including psychologists and lawyers. Suddenly Alone has focused on helping people in mourning, as well as their relatives, and children, who have lost their parents. The foundation has also worked closely with companies who have lost employees, as well as on projects for institutions and funeral homes. Suddenly Alone has done significant work towards social discourse on life after loss in Poland.
The Foundation operates support groups within Warsaw, Gdansk, Wroclaw, Krakow, Poznan, Tychy and Łódź. The Foundation is concentrated on the following objectives: psychological support – being there for persons in mourning, support groups, therapy, psychiatric care; legal assistance in filling out documents; psychological assistance and support for children. Suddenly Alone wants to make people aware of the fact that children experience mourning as adults do. The Foundation also works towards changing the image of widows and widowers, who should have the right to get on with their lives, engage in new relationships and enjoy life.
Since November 2012 the Foundation offers support for people who have lost their beloved ones. This support includes psychological consultations, therapy and support groups for adults, and for children, as well as relaxation activities and legal consultations.
Activities for children include support groups and individual therapy, provided by developmental psychology specialists experienced in working with children facing a loss.
The Suddenly Alone Foundation offers a Polish language website with online assistance, providing an online guide, that includes a compendium of knowledge on mourning. Visitors can read blogs and our stories at www.naglesami.org.pl. Here you can also find bereavement support information. In addition there is a free of charge national helpline (801 108 108), which is staffed by trained bereavement volunteers, who offer emotional support to anyone affected by a death of a loved one. The helpline is open Monday-Friday 2-8 pm.