A few months after the initial shock and outpouring of grief, she came up against something she calls the "conspiracy of silence" that occurs after the loss of a child.

"You find that people don't know what to say to you," she said.

"The friends you thought would always be there for you...the burden almost becomes too heavy for them that they start to distance themselves from you.

"You find some almost telling you in a not so direct way: 'I thought you'd be over it by now.'"

Ms Greenhalgh, who is also an Orange City Councillor, started looking for help and support outside her friend circle.

Through a family connection, she was put in touch with a group called The Compassionate Friends, or TCF, a not-for-profit organisation provides peer support to bereaved parents, siblings and grandparents after the loss of a child.

TCF has chapters all over NSW, but the nearest to Orange was in Parkes.

"I went over to one of their candle lighting vigils before Christmas where you get together and you light a candle for all the children that have been lost.

"Immediately I was like, 'we need this in Orange. I cannot believe we don't have group like this in Orange.'"

The coordinator of the Parkes group, Judy Fisher, set up a few informal catch-ups in Orange, where Ms Greenhalgh met Donna Stedman, who lost her 27-year-old son Daniel to cancer in 2020.

"When I met Donna, we just clicked," she said.

We both had the same ambitions and we thought: 'we owe it to our boys and all of the other bereaved mums out there to make this group happen in Orange.'"

After completing training with TCF, the pair are now set to do just that.

Their first meeting will be held next Thursday, June 16, from 7 - 8.30pm at the North Orange McDonald's function room.

Ms Greenhalgh says they have pencilled in the third Thursday of every month for meetings, but will keep the time flexible to see what works for others.

"We've kept this one pretty informal.

"To be honest it's pretty confronting at first, so I won't be disappointed if the first two or three meetings maybe we don't even get anyone turn up, because it's a very big step for people." she said.

"It's tricky, but I think it's important. I personally get more out of having conversations with those other bereaved parents than I do going to a counselling session.

"There really just is no one better to understand than another bereaved parent.

"When you put your arms around another bereaved parent and hug them, there's just an unwritten bond.

"That heartache and that hole in your heart. You've both got it. You both know it's not going anywhere. You both know that some days the waves are just lapping at your feet and then next minute all of a sudden a big wave just comes and barrels you under the water and you're struggling to survive.

"So regardless of how long it takes someone - just to know that the group's going to be there when and if they need it is the important thing."

For more details on the group, contact Tammy Greenhalgh 0417 482 688 or Donna Stedman on 0419 357 431.