9/11 families come together for support and comfort

NEW JERSEY (FOX 5 NEWS) - Elaine Chevalier lost her son, Swede, on 9/11. It was through a 9/11 peer support group with 9/11 widows that Elaine found comfort and understanding.

All of the women say the group was instrumental in helping them heal. So, after receiving help, these ladies wanted to pay it forward and went to work to help others.

Sheila Martello is the director of what is now Stephy's Place in Red Bank, New Jersey, a nonprofit support center that is absolutely free to anyone who has lost a love one through death, addiction, or divorce. This month, Stephy's Place is celebrating its first anniversary.

Lisa Luckett says 9/11 spawned not only unimaginable grief but also the beauty of love and compassion shown to her and her children. Lisa's husband, Ted, died at the World Trade Center. They had a 4-month old, a 4-year-old and a 7-year-old. Lisa raised their children as a single mom. And in that past 15 years, she has also survived breast cancer and become an entrepreneur.

Lisa has chosen to always see the silver lining; the bright instead of the dark. And she is hoping that on this 15th anniversary of 9/11, the country can see the day in a new light and we can examine ourselves as a nation.