Welcome to the Sun Will Rise Foundation

 

The Sun Will Rise Foundation exists because Robyn Houston-Bean lost her twenty year old son Nicholas Bean to an accidental polysubstance overdose in May of 2015. Trying to find purpose and a reason to go on after a traumatic sudden loss, she knew that when she could function again, she would do something in his memory. Knowing the value of peer grief support groups, and the need for some in her area, she decided to start a Massachusetts grief support group called The Sun Will Rise, for those that have experienced the death of someone they care due to overdose or other substance use related causes. She had attended a group in Brighton and found it so helpful, but knew that one was needed closer, and set out to initiate one, so those on the South Shore and Braintree/Weymouth/Quincy Massachusetts area would not be alone in their grief. In December 2015, the grief group held its first meeting at the Braintree Town Hall. New groups followed in Quincy MA and then Weymouth MA.

The Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit charity, expanding from just overdose/substance use grief support, was created shortly after that. Its further dedication of providing education, awareness and prevention was a normal progression for those who loved Nick, not wanting other families to feel the utter devastation that they do. Speaking in front of parents, community members and teens at schools and other venues, Robyn has shared her family’s story to let people know that substance use disorder can happen to any family. She shares with parents, the risk factors that she feels she missed and urges teens to be part of the solution by helping their friends if they are worried about their use of alcohol or drugs. She tries to help erase the preconceived notions people have about those who use substances and erase the stigma.

In 2020, the peer grief support for a death from overdose or substance use related causes expanded to six more groups in person groups around Massachusetts providing even more Massachusetts residents a place where they could meet with others going through the same type of grief. With the covid pandemic, the in person meetings paused and the foundation started to offer online zoom grief support meetings, welcoming people from all over the country! Some of our groups decided to stay on the virtual meeting path and no longer meet in person, while new, in person groups started up and multiple zoom speciality groups came into existence. In 2023, we expanded our grief support to Portland Maine with our partnership with The Family Restored. Many independent grief groups that existed in Massachusetts have joined under the umbrella of The Sun Will Rise to combine forces to provide even more support. Today we have over 30 monthly peer grief support meetings.

These groups could not run without our volunteer facilitators! All our facilitators have the lived experience of having someone they care about die due to substance use. These peers make the grief support for loss due to substance use possible!