Spotlight on Children's Grief

Happy New Year and THANK YOU to this amazing community for raising nearly $60,000 for The Healing Center in the last two months of 2024.

Your dedication to amplifying "Spotlight on Children’s Grief," sharing your stories during National Children’s Grief Awareness Day and Giving Tuesday, and giving generously at year-end have ensured we can continue offering grieving kids (and adults) the care and community they deserve - free of charge! 

This campaign was a unique opportunity to feature the voices, faces, and original artwork of our youngest clients, and reading their moving stories inspired our entire community. I feel both humbled and proud to see the immense difference The Healing Center is making in these young lives. 

Kids and teens often come to us feeling “trapped and alone,” but thanks to generous donors and advocates like you they leave feeling "understood" "seen" and "connected." That's the power of this community, and that’s the power of your support. 

I’d like to offer my deepest thanks to everyone who chipped in to ensure finances never stand in the way of grieving kids accessing The Healing Center's lifesaving connection and compassion – it's your generosity that keeps our services free! 

Together, we’re working toward a future where everyone can access the grief support they deserve. Thank you for joining us, and thank you for helping to end 2024 on such a high note. 

Sincerely, 

Sonja Whitaker, MS, LMFT  
Center Director
The Healing Center

This fall through December 31st, we’re highlighting the importance and impact of our Youth Programs and working to raise $25,000 to support these free grief groups for kids facing loss.

When children and teens come to The Healing Center for the first time, one of the most common things they share is how deeply alone they feel. As a society, we often avoid speaking with children about the person they’ve lost because we’re afraid of making them sad, but kids need to feel and express their grief to know that it is acceptable - and that they are not alone. 

The Healing Center exists to provide exactly this, offering age-based groups where toddlers through teens can open up and build connections with others facing similar losses, often for the first time.

“After loss, we know that access to immediate, compassionate, non-judgmental support is critical for healing and survival – and that’s what we provide here. 

I'm proud that our groups allowed a 4-year-old to share ‘my heart cracked open when my daddy died’ in a safe place with others who understand. 

I feel lucky to have been there when two 10-year-olds, both mourning the loss of their moms, realized for the first time they were not alone in their grief. 

I feel grateful for the moment when a teenager told me how terrified she was to come to her first group, but how now the connections she’s built keep her going. 

At The Healing Center, we make room for both deep loss and our ability to continue on through connection and care."

 - Caroline Catlin, MFA, Youth Program Lead

Thanks to generous donors, our lifesaving groups are offered to hundreds of families a year free of charge - eliminating a financial barrier that would exclude many. 

"I’m so grateful for the Center being free. To be able to send my kids here and not have to figure out how to pay for it, for them to be able to access this support without any barriers, was huge. That’s why we should all give, to keep those barriers away." Deirdre, Mom of Two Teen Clients

"The Healing Center was such a gift to us. It’s very positive for Bella to have this support so that she can process her emotions and have security through the loss of her brother. I hope people give so that more families can access this." Heidi, Mom of 8-year-old Client

Today, you can make a difference for children going through tragedy by ensuring finances don't stop them from receiving the care and community they deserve.

• Click "Donate" to make your gift now.
  
• Click "Share" below to help spread the word.
  
• Or click "In Their Words" above to hear young clients share more about how The Healing Center has helped them feel less alone, gain confidence and a sense of safety, express themselves, and find a way forward.

The Healing Center is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, Tax ID 91-2054526. All gifts are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law.