A northern Colorado support group for loved ones of missing people will meet for the first time this weekend in Greeley.
Jonathan and Michelle Schwartz's son, Nathan Schwartz, went missing a year and a half ago on Feb. 21, 2021. The Schwartzes decided to form the support group after learning about the demand for such groups.
In Colorado, as of August, there have been 1,329 active cases of missing people, Jonathan said. Nationally, the FBI has reported 93,718 active missing people as of Dec. 31, 2021.
"You never think that it's going to be you, and you never think that you're going to know someone that has a missing loved one," Jonathan said.
Since their son's disappearance, the Schwartz family has interacted with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, including attending the agency's annual Colorado Missing Persons Day event. They learned this year at the event about the immense need for support groups of family and friends of missing people across the state and nation.
Then came the idea for the Schwartzes to form their own group: Northern Colorado Support for Loved Ones of Missing Persons. The inaugural meeting is set for 10 a.m. Saturday at the Community Grief Center in Greeley.
The local support group plans to meet in person on the first Saturday of the month and is opening its door to whoever has a missing loved one and wishes to attend, according to Jonathan.
"It's a safe place to come together with those who have missing loved ones and just to share their ambiguous grief," Jonathan said. "With that ambiguous group, there's no closure, so we just wanted to provide a group that allows these people to come together and share their experiences."
Support groups give loved ones an opportunity to share their stories with people who can relate, emphasize and understand what people are dealing with, Jonathan said. This is why many people who run support groups are often in the same boat as attendees.
This summer, Jonathan attended a session chaired by a woman with a missing sister. She had no formal training but could relate to what everyone was going through, Jonathan said.
The Schwartzes hope to provide the same support to people across northern Colorado looking for a safe space to discuss their grief.
"Everybody's case is completely different," Jonathan said. "We all shared our experiences, but it was all different individually, yet we all belong to the same feelings of knowing what it's like to have a loved one that's missing."
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