In it together
When children are grieving, it can be difficult to know how to best support them. Parents and caregivers are often also dealing with their own grief, and it’s common to feel overwhelmed. Dougy Center offers peer support groups for kids as young as age three through young adult, providing hope and healing tailored to their needs and developmental responses to grief.
Your support helps Dougy Center continue to provide critically important grief support and resources to families at no charge.
Be here for families like the Tanks
“In the blink of an eye, your whole world can change.” That’s how Tammy Tank described it when her husband, Tim, died of brain cancer at 50.
Tim’s death left a hole in the Tank family. Feeling alone and unsure of the future, Tammy and her two children, 10-year-old Allison and 12-year-old Andrew, turned to Dougy Center for grief support.
After Tim’s death, Tammy found herself in the deep-end, eyes wide open. Suddenly, she was navigating life both as a wife grieving the death of her husband, and as the mother of two young children grieving the death of their father. Through it all, the daily grind of life continued — the kids needed to get to school, there were groceries to buy, and activities to plan. It was hard to know when — or how — she could pause and allow herself to grieve.
“It’s empowering for kids to know that there are other people who have walked through what they’re going through.”
– Tammy Tank
“I remember thinking, I’m just going to exercise and that will be like my therapy.” But Tammy found that through all the distractions, her grief waited for her. Tammy decided it was time for her family to learn more about the peer grief support groups at Dougy Center.
At first, her children were hesitant. “I just didn’t want to help my grief recover. I just wanted to be by myself, curled up in a little ball,” said Allison.
But soon, the kids found support with a community of peers who were going through a similar experience. “It was enough to just be around people who have gone through what I’ve gone through. Who’ve lost a parent,” Andrew shared.
For Tammy, the parent/caregivers group opened up a network of understanding and support amidst the uncertainty of their lives. “I just had this exhale — like, I’m somewhere I don’t have to pretend to fit in.”
It was a friend who encouraged Tammy to give herself the gift of Dougy Center. Reflecting back on that moment, she’s grateful she did. “Don’t go it alone. Dougy Center has built a place and a space for you to be heard and to come together about your loss.”
Make an impact
You can ensure that grief support continues to be available to children and families like the Tanks, at no cost to them. Your gift of any size is needed now and ensures kids have everything from stuffies to snuggle through tough conversations, to art supplies and opportunities to express grief through creative expression, and trained staff there to support them along the way.