AUSTIN, Texas — For some, grief is not easy to overcome, especially for families dealing with loss during the holidays.
But for many at The Christi Center, grief is not the end of the road.
The nonprofit group offers free grief support for anyone who needs it. The name comes from Christi Lanahan, an Austin woman who was killed by a drunk driver in 1985.
However, recently, there was a more special celebration where Christmas trees were filled with pictures of loved ones' faces followed by their name and the date they had passed. The trees were displaced inside St. Edwards University's Mabee Ballroom for the center's 36th annual remembrance service, which allowed people to hang those photos as ornaments.
"We get to comment on our loved ones. Being around other people that are in the same spot that we're loving our families, wanting to remember them," said Leslie Inman, who lost her daughter Marissa Rodriquez in 2016 of a drug overdose.
Inman said her daughter thought what she took was a Xanax, but it turned out to be fentanyl.
"[Marissa] was a young woman [with] two young kids, and if my daughter can die of a drug overdose, somebody else's child could, too. So I basically have more or less channeled my grief into really helping other people," Inman said.
Inman remembers the first time she came to The Christi Center two weeks after her daughter died. It was the annual remembrance service she would soon attend every year.
"It was really special because I saw all these other people that had lost somebody," Inman said.
A special moment that she and many others have made a tradition.
Melanie Holtz lost her son, Matthew, about 10 years ago. She said being part of a club she was forced to join became part of a peace she thought she would never find.
"I would never wish this on anyone, but this is kind of a club of people that understand the hell that you're going through," Holtz said.
She said Matthew was 23 years old when he died of an epileptic seizure. Holtz said her son, who graduated from Cedar Park in 2009, loved to cook and play baseball.
"He was in the kitchen all the time at one restaurant or another, or playing third base, and he just loved it," Holtz said. "He just loved life."
Holtz and Inman are just two people like so many others who have found comfort and channeled their grief the best way they know how.
"If we can come together and mourn together as a community, I think it makes it easier," Holtz said.
If you would like to donate to the Christi Center, you can visit their website.