As an organization focused on supporting children and families who are grieving, 2023 was a year of continued growth for Dougy Center with increased demand for our resources and services. In the past year, we served 2,684 children, teens, young adults, and family members through 1,803 peer grief support groups. This was made possible in large part by Dougy Center’s dedicated volunteer facilitators, who gave an incredible 24,915 hours of service.
While the pandemic is no longer top-of-mind for many of us, we know that the millions of families affected by a death from COVID-19 continue to need support. In 2023, through an ongoing partnership with the Brave of Heart Fund, Dougy Center created and published an activity book for children and a journal for teens, both in English and Spanish, to help youth grieving a death from COVID. These titles, along with an online toolkit featuring tip sheets, activities, and podcast episodes, have been distributed to more than 300,000 families and organizations, and are available at no charge at dougy.org/covid.
In addition, Dougy Center continued its #UnderstandGrief campaign, which challenges the mainstream belief that grief is an individual emotional experience that has predictable stages and a defined timeline. The problem with defining grief this way suggests that if your “symptoms” last too long, or are too intense, you may have a “mental disorder” needing treatment. #UnderstandGrief is a message of understanding and hope that everyone responds to grief in a unique way and grief can last a lifetime — and that is completely normal. Through partnerships with 33 organizations, a website, and robust social media campaign, Dougy Center is working to spread the word about grief as a natural, normal, and healthy response to loss.
Dougy Center’s work continues to reach beyond our Portland community in other ways as well. In 2023, 268,632 people downloaded our acclaimed Grief Out Loud podcast; 275,101 people from 72 countries found free resources through our website; and Dougy Center program staff answered 25,360 information, crisis, referral, and intake requests.
In 2023, we were once again humbled to be ranked as one of Oregon Business magazine’s 100 Best Nonprofits to work for in Oregon, and named one of Portland Business Journal’s Most Admired Non-Profits.
As we look back on 2023, we are reminded of how your generous and ongoing support truly makes Dougy Center’s work possible. Thank you for the impact you are making on the lives of children, teens, young adults, and their families who are grieving.
