Losing someone you love is never easy.

Losing a loved one for whom you have been a devoted caregiver can be devastating.

Constantly on the clock and always anxious about the “call” that your family member, spouse or friend has taken a turn for the worse, being a caregiver can stir up a confusing mixture of emotions – devotion and hopelessness, patience and frustration, sadness and joy, anger and acceptance.

All those feelings – coupled with the “living” grief caregivers sometimes experience for the loss of the person they once knew – can be exhausting, and it can seem lonely and isolating, especially after that loved one has passed.

Luckily, you aren’t alone.

As North America’s largest network of funeral, cremation and cemetery providers, Dignity Memorial works everyday with families who care for their loved ones. Compassionate staff at your local Dignity providers understand the stresses and challenges of being a caregiver and are there to help.

Dignity Memorial offers an extensive selection of resources for those helping themselves or others cope with grief and loss. The Dignity Memorial Guidance Series, for example, is a collection of brochures, booklets, DVDs and CDs offering professional advice and insight on the topics of loss, grieving and caring for others, valuable information that providers proudly provide to families at no charge.

Dignity Memorial plan-holders also receive free access to the company’s 24-Hour Compassion Helpline for those times when your family members, friends, clergy or other confidants are not available. The helpline – available for purchase separately from a plan - is staffed by professionals who have advanced degrees and are specially trained in grief counseling.

Easily accessible online resources mean the information you need most is always at your fingertips right when you need it. Dignity’s virtual library is an extensive collection of helpful articles on a variety of topics, including coping with a loved one’s terminal illness, helping young children handle grief, assisting with advance funeral arrangements and more. The resource library can be accessed at www.dignitymemorial.com.

Like Dignity providers, professional caregivers - hospice staff members, clergy, social workers, nurses, counselors and physicians, among others – frequently see grief firsthand and are often called upon to give some comfort.

The Dignity Memorial network acknowledges the vital role those professionals give with a multitude of resources intended to inform and assist the professional caregiver. Dignity has also partnered with the Hospice Foundation of America to provide two free funeral education courses to hospice professionals for continuing education credit.

Whether it is your job or family function to be a caregiver, Dignity Memorial is on your side – as you remain devoted at the bedside and when it comes times to say goodbye.

Patrick Kelly is Family Service Manager for Dignity Memorial®, which cares for more than 300,000 families each year through its network of more than 2,000 providers throughout North America. Learn more at www.dignitymemorial.com or call Greenlawn Memorial Park, Oleander Memorial Gardens and Coble-Ward Smith Funeral & Cremation Service, (910) 799-1686.