The Right Place When Nothing Feels Right
When someone dies, it can feel like you’re alone in your grief. At Dougy Center, you will find support, resources, and connection before and after a death.
Grief Resources & Toolkits
Whether you’re grieving, or you’re helping someone who is grieving, Dougy Center is here for you. Find tip sheets, activities, podcasts, and more through our personalized toolkits.
Find Grief Support Near You
Locate peer grief support groups in Portland and around the world.
What We Do
At Dougy Center, we create safe spaces and free resources for children and families who are grieving. Our pioneering peer grief support model, professional training, and world-renowned programs and advocacy bring hope and healing around the world.
The Impact of Dougy Center
Read stories about the positive impact of Dougy Center on children and families who are grieving
Finding support in the midst of grief
An important part of Dougy Center for the Brown family is feeling that they are not alone and being with others who truly understand what they are going through. Through their support groups, they have made deep and lasting friendships with people they now consider extensions of their own family. “Dougy Center has been an invaluable resource,” said Adaire. “I consider myself to be a very intentional, resourceful, and protective mother when it comes to my children. However, I, alone, was not capable of managing their grief. Dougy Center can help to process and unpack all of those big feelings that can consume the hearts of adults and children alike.”
Read the Full StoryGrief Out Loud Podcast
Grief Out Loud is our internationally acclaimed podcast where we talk openly about death, dying, and grief
Latest Episode
May 20th, 2022
We're All Experts In Our Own Grief - Rebecca Soffer & The Modern Loss Handbook
Rebecca Soffer, co-founder of the Modern Loss Community, started becoming an expert in grief the moment she learned that her mother Shelby was killed in a car crash. Her expertise expanded when four years later, her father Ray died of a heart attack while traveling. As a single woman in her early thirties, Rebecca needed to talk about her grief, and she really needed to hear others talk about theirs. It was this longing for an ongoing conversation and led her, along with co-founder Gabi Birkner, to start the Modern Loss Community. Nine years later, Rebecca just published her second book - The Modern Loss Handbook: An Interactive Guide to Moving Through Grief and Building Your Resilience. It's the kind of book that many people are looking for in their grief - filled with prompts for writing, drawing, and movement practices to help people stay connected to themselves, their people who died, and the world around them. read more...
Go to EpisodeNews & Events
February 22nd, 2022
Join the Movement to #Understand Grief
It's time to take a stand and acknowledge grief for what it truly is — a natural, normal, and healthy response to loss. As the pandemic raged through our communities, hundreds of thousands of children and teens have had a parent die, and many more lost grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, other relatives, and family friends. We’re in an epidemic of grief, and never in our lifetimes has grief been so public in the media, yet so privately complex. Join the movement to #UnderstandGrief. Find out more, including 10 ways we can implement grief-informed knowledge, along with social media images you can download and share.
Read MoreArticle
November 2nd, 2021
Brennan Wood writes "A Kids Book About Grief"
We are excited to announce a new book written by Dougy Center's Executive Director, Brennan Wood. A Kids Book About Grief, created in collaboration with A Kids Company About About, features Brennan's personal experience with grief after the death of her mom when she was 12.
About Dougy Center
Dougy Center was founded in 1982 to support children and families who are grieving before and after a death. Today, The Dougy Center Model is world-renowned and has helped 55,000 people find hope and healing.