2 women start Facebook group for young COVID widows, widowers after suffering their own losses
NEW JERSEY (WABC) -- The coronavirus pandemic has brought so much heartache and overwhelming loss to so many, but now, two women from New Jersey who lost their spouses are trying to help others who share their pain.
Kristina Scorpo and Pamela Addison formed a support group with the message: You are not alone.
Both women are in their 30s and have young children, and each lost her husband to COVID. Martin Addison and Frank Scorpo died just 17 days apart.
Back in November, they started a Facebook page to support other people exactly like them, and men too. It has 385 members now, with some even located in the UK.
"We weren't hearing about a lot of young people passing from COVID-19," Scorpo said. "So it was really comforting for me to write the card."
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Their friendship began after Scorpo sent a thoughtful card to Addison, even though they were total strangers. She had received one like it and paid the kindness forward.
"I have this person that I can talk to who will understand exactly what I'm going through," Addison said.
Addison wrote an article and realized there were so many like them, and then the two started the Facebook page Young Widows and Widowers of COVID-19 to share feelings, burdens, and actually have some fun.
Valentine's Day Bingo, Super Bowl boxes, and sharing pictures at sporting events all have been a huge hit, and it's a group in which no one has to be uncomfortable about grief.
"It's fine to have your grief," Addison said. "We're comfortable with it. We can help you. We can support you."
"It's really about an everyday check-in," Scorpo added. "We check in on everybody every day."
Their children also are connecting and are potentially friends for life for the same reasons, and those kids are also what keeps the teacher and nurse going.
"They're just so cute and loving," Addison said.
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"They're just the sweetest, most caring little two men that I have," Scorpo added.
They are a daily reminder of the love that started everything and that stretches into tomorrow.
"Martin wouldn't want me to be sad," Addison said. "I have to live life, and that's what he would want."
And that is what their page is all about.
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