Be the Light in Someone's Darkness
When young 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 3, providing hope and healing tailored to their needs and developmental responses to grief.
Be the light in the darkness for families like the Browns. Your support will help Dougy Center continue to provide critically important grief support and resources to children, teens, young adults, and families at no charge.
The Brown family began attending Dougy Center groups in 2019, after the death of Benjamin and Adaire’s oldest daughter Rhyse.
“Rhyse suffered a hypoxic birth injury which rendered her a paraplegic. She had a trach and was nonverbal,” explained Adaire. “Nevertheless, she was able to communicate a myriad of feelings and emotions. We never went anywhere as a family without Rhyse. Despite the brevity of Rhyse’s life, she packed our days with exponential meaning and purpose. She undoubtedly touched so many lives with her quiet love.”
After Rhyse died, the Browns’ pediatrician recommended Dougy Center for their younger girls, Rheagan (now 8) and Rhyan (now 5). They began attending in-person groups several months later.
“Going to Dougy Center is the highlight of their weeks,” said Adaire. “They love having a creative as well as constructive place to share their thoughts and feelings about Rhyse. Rhyan was only 14 months old when we lost Rhyse, so her grief looks different than Rheagan’s. Dougy Center is still a place where they both feel encouraged to share their loss out loud and know they will be heard. I know Rheagan is especially grateful for Dougy Center because the other kids in her group are attuned to what it feels like to lose a loved one.”
Be the Light in Someone's Darkness
For children who are grieving, your support for Dougy Center can truly transform their lives. Your contribution supports a program proven to lessen social isolation and increase feelings of well-being for children of all ages.
Be a beacon of hope, a bright light for families like the Browns, and a promise of healing and support to the children who are grieving. Your generosity ensures that children and teens have what they need to work through their grief in ways that support their emotional and social well-being.