(COLORADO SPRINGS) — A club no mother wants to join, but are grateful someone else understands. Dozens of mothers who have lost a child are coming together in Colorado Springs next weekend to find hope and healing.

The meeting serves as a reminder to these mothers that they don’t have to walk this path alone. The Journey of the Heart Conference has sparked a friendship between two women who wish they didn’t share this grief, but who are now thankful they have each other.

“So, that’s one of the funniest things is that I forget how sassy she was. Like, everybody thinks that she was just like this little smiley angel, but she had personality,” said Shalamar Outlaw, mother of Olivia Iris Outlaw, who passed at 5 years old in 2022.

Through the midst of grief, Outlaw and Lynda Sherlhamer found healing through friendship.

“Immediately we began to chat and then she told me about Heavenly Hope and Healing Ministries, which is partner with grieving moms. That was in July of last year, that was right on the precipice of last year’s conference. So, I found myself very quickly sucked into last year’s conference, to experience it,” said Outlaw of how the pair met.

It’s been almost two years since Shalamar’s world turned upside down.

“From 18 months on, we knew we would lose her, and no one prepares you for that finality,” said Outlaw.

The loss of her daughter is what lead her to find comfort in the organization, Heavenly Hope and Healing, which led to Sherlhamer.

“He was very intelligent, he was gifted, and he knew how to get to his other siblings,” said Sherlhamer, laughing while reminiscing about her son.

Sherlhamer lost her son to suicide when he was just 15 years old.

“After a child dies, the mom is left alone. She actually becomes the victim. It’s a very lonely time where you withdraw from yourself and your grief, and you’re pretty much alone. Your friends and family remember for a few weeks, but then it’s quickly forgotten,” she said.

So Sherlhamer decided to create a conference to help mothers like Outlaw know they are not alone.

“We put all of our hope into trusting God to get us through surviving the next few steps, and that lead us here to Colorado Springs,” said Sherlhamer.

Now preparations are underway for the Journey of the Heart Conference in Colorado Springs.

“I’m just looking for ways to keep her name alive. She’s touched so many hearts, including our own, and then just find purpose in the pain,” added Outlaw.

If you are a grieving mother and interested in joining next week’s conference, you can click here for more.

The 2024 Journey of the Heart Conference in Colorado Springs takes place Aug. 16-18 at the Glen Eyrie Conference Center on North 30th Street.