From Portland, Oregon to Aiken, South Carolina, Dougy Center's program comes full circle.
Dougy Center's L.Y.G.H.T. program (Listening and Led by Youth in Foster Care: Grief, Hope, and Transitions) provides peer grief support for youth in foster care. Currently, L.Y.G.H.T. is offered in several locations throughout South Carolina, and we're thrilled to announce a new community site will begin offering the L.Y.G.H.T. program this month in Aiken, SC, the hometown of our namesake, Dougy Turno.
The new L.Y.G.H.T. partnership is with Helping Hands, Inc., an emergency home for children who have been removed from their homes due to abuse, abandonment and/or neglect.
In 1981, at the age of 13, Dougy Turno traveled from Aiken to Portland to receive experimental treatment for an inoperable brain tumor. Dougy's experiences and his desire to talk about his impending death inspired our founder, Beverly Chappell, to start the first-ever peer grief support program for children.
“We are deeply honored to expand the L.Y.G.H.T. program to Aiken, South Carolina, especially considering the connection between Dougy Turno and how he inspired the founding of Dougy Center,” said Monique Mitchell, PhD, FT, National Director of L.Y.G.H.T. at Dougy Center. “Through this partnership with Helping Hands, Inc. we can provide much-needed grief support to youth in the foster care system, helping them explore a healthy outlet to express their unique experiences of loss and grief and to support one another along the way.”
Dougy Center is working to bring L.Y.G.H.T. to youth in foster care throughout the country, including Oregon.
Find more about L.Y.G.H.T. here
Pictured: Dr. Donna Schuurman, Dougy Center's Senior Director of Advocacy & Education, recently traveled to Dougy's hometown in Aiken, South Carolina, and met with two of Dougy's brothers, David and Daniel (right). Also pictured is Dougy Turno (top left) and Dougy Center Founder Beverly Chappell (bottom left).
