A project with StoryCorps and the New York Life Foundation helps grieving families record conversations that will be saved in the Library of Congress.
When a loved one dies, there are memories you never want to forget. To help preserve these stories, Dougy Center was selected to partner with StoryCorps and the New York Life Foundation on Road to Resilience: Memories that Move Us Forward, a new project to support grieving children and families.
The mission of StoryCorps is to share humanity’s stories as a way to build connections and create a more compassionate world. Road to Resilience was born out of StoryCorps and the New York Life Foundation's commitment to helping children cope with the death of a parent, sibling, or other loved one.
As part of the project, a group of Dougy Center staff and volunteers Dougy Center families share stories for Road to Resilience were trained by StoryCorps to facilitate 40-minute conversations with children and their adults. Over the past year, 25 families from Dougy Center recorded conversations about having someone die. They also asked each other questions they might never ask in daily life. Ones like, “What did Dad think when he first saw me?” and “What’s something he did that bugged you?”
At the end of each recording, families were able to choose if they wanted to archive their conversations both with StoryCorps and the Library of Congress. They also decided whether they wanted to share their recording with Dougy Center.
You can listen to excerpts from four of these conversations on our podcast, Grief Out Loud.
Josh & Sylvia
Michael, Mason, & Megan
Traci, Amira, & Alina
Ruby & Jana
Our deepest appreciation to StoryCorps and the New York Life Foundation for providing Dougy Center families this unique opportunity to remember old stories and learn new things about their loved ones and each other.
