GEORGE AND AMAL CLOONEY ARE TAKING SHIFTS WITH FRIENDS — SO CINDY CRAWFORD AND RANDE GERBER DON’T HAVE TO FACE THIS ALONE

For Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber, the silence after losing their only son has been met by something quieter: friends refusing to leave them alone.

George and Amal Clooney, longtime friends of the Gerber family, have reportedly been taking shifts with several close friends, staying near Cindy and Rande as they navigate the days following the death of their 27-year-old son, Presley Gerber. A source told PEOPLE that the friends are doing so “so they aren’t alone.”

George and Rande’s friendship goes back decades. Their relationship eventually extended into business when they joined Mike Meldman to create Casamigos, but their connection has long been described as much deeper than a business partnership. The Clooneys joined the family in Los Angeles after learning of Presley’s death and have been helping with arrangements and whatever the family needs, according to sources cited by PEOPLE.

For the Gerber family, this loss has come after years in which Presley had spoken publicly about his struggles with mental health and substance use.

Presley died on Sept. 20 at age 27 at a rehabilitation facility in Santa Monica, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner records. An autopsy has been completed, but the official cause of death remains pending. Santa Monica police have been investigating the death as a suspected overdose.

That distinction matters.

While reports have described the death as involving a suspected overdose, the final medical determination has not yet been released. Toxicology and other testing are still part of the investigation.

In the middle of that uncertainty, the family is dealing with something far more immediate than headlines: grief.

Sources previously told PEOPLE that Cindy, Rande and Presley’s sister, Kaia Gerber, were left in total shock following his death. Another source said Cindy and Rande had remained deeply involved in their son’s life throughout his struggles and continued to support him through difficult periods.

Presley had also tried to turn his own experiences into something that could help other people.

Through his “Mental Health Mondays” posts, he spoke openly about issues many people keep private. At a mental-health-focused event in Malibu in June, he appeared alongside his parents and discussed the importance of honesty and vulnerability.

Now, the people closest to the family appear to be answering that message in a different way — simply by staying.

George and Amal are not being reported as trying to change what happened. They are reportedly helping with the ordinary and painful realities that follow an unexpected death: being present, helping with arrangements and making sure the grieving family has someone nearby.

For Cindy and Rande, that presence cannot change the outcome.

It can, however, mean that when the house becomes quiet, they do not have to sit in that silence completely alone.

And perhaps that is what these first days of grief are really about — not finding the right words, but making sure someone is still there when the words run out.