Affiliate Leader Focus - HPH - Tampa Bay, Cathy Zimmerman & Kathy & Mike Fooshee

HPH - Tampa Bay

Each month, we focus on a different Affiliate Group throughout the country and the world. This month, we focus on HPH - Tampa Bay with Cathy Zimmerman, Kathy & Mike Fooshee, and their sons, Ross and Nicholas. Tampa Bay is one of our oldest Affiliate Groups and we have enormous gratitude for its Affiliate Leaders!

Cathy Zimmerman & Ross
In April of 2016 my son Ross passed by suicide after struggling with drug addiction. Five days later on his birthday I received my first sign from Ross. It was undeniable. The signs kept coming. I knew his spirit was still alive. I joined a support group for people who had a loved one pass from drugs or drug-related death. I made friends with other moms who understood what I was going through. We often talked about the signs from our kids. In late 2016 I read an article online about a lady in Tampa who had three children in spirit, Marla Grant. As I read further I learned she was the founding affiliate leader of HPH in Tampa. As soon as I read the mission of HPH, I knew this was the group for me and my friends from the other group. A few years later I became an HPH co-leader along with Amy Diehl. Attending my first HPH conference was a major jumpstart to my healing. I left feeling on a high that lasted for months. It also gave me the desire to learn more. I have attended every conference since then. In January of 2025 Marla Grant and Amy Diehl stepped down and I volunteered to be the affiliate leader. I recruited Mike and Kathy Fooshee from my original support group. What makes HPH different from other support groups is that they don’t focus on the loss. They focus on the continued connection we have with our kids. As affiliate leader and co-leaders, we want to offer compassion, support, and hope to all our Tampa members that our children are with us, just in a different way.

Kathy & Mike Fooshee & Nicholas
We are parents and stepparents of four children, three on this earth and one who transitioned on March 4, 2019. Our third chronological son, Nicholas Malamatos was a drug addict, and accidentally overdosed due to Fentanyl. Living with an addict we knew this was always a possibility; however, it still was a shock as Nick had been sober for one and a half years prior to his transition. To help us in our grief, we learned of a support group, Journey to Healing Hearts, that was specific to loved ones transitioning due to a drug overdose.

That is where we met Cathy Zimmerman, Affiliate Leader, who told us about HPH Tampa Bay. In our years of healing, we attended both Journey to Healing Hearts, as well as the HPH meetings. This year, Cathy asked if we would act as Co-Leaders of HPH, as the founding members were stepping down. As we look to the future, we continue to explore new opportunities to make a difference by volunteering, which has been our personal passion. In addition to volunteering as HPH Tampa Bay Affiliate Leaders, we serve on the Hillsborough County Board of Directors of NOPE (Narcotics Overdose Prevention Education) – Hillsborough County. We help set up and act as a Family Speaker at Middle and High School presentations, to bring awareness to the dangers of drugs, overdose and addiction. We also continue to serve at Trinity Café, part of Feeding Tampa Bay, feeding those who have food deficiencies, on a weekly basis. By serving others, we believe it helps make sense of our sons crossing the veil.