CITY ISLAND--A Bronx woman has used her own experience with grief to start a bereavement group in City Island.

When Jillian Cea was just 12 years old, her brother Gregory died. She says she turned to bereavement groups to help her cope.

Cea, now 23 and in her second year of her masters at Iona College, has started her own group called Compassionate Journey to help neighbors deal with their own trouble.

The group held its first meeting last Wednesday and plans to meet biweekly throughout the summer at the City Island Community Center.

One of the members, Caitlin Stiene, lost her brother Timothy in 2012. Cea and Steine's brothers were friends.

"My brother died of the drug epidemic and even though it was suicide....there's a lot of families that are going through that pain right now," Stiene said.

Cea is studying to be a mental health counselor.