No One Grieves Alone in 2022
This goal of $14,450 will sponsor 25 kids to receive 1 year of free grief support at Dustin's Place!
It isn't until you experience the death of a loved one that you fully grasp the impact of grief and the need for grief support. Often times grief can be all encompassing leaving the surviving adult to try to put their families back together in the midst of their own grief and children without the grief support they need. Dustin's Place was co-founded by Viki Cullen-Brown in 2019 after Viki's husband, Dustin Cullen died. Dustin was an amazing man, Viki's best friend, and the rock to their family. His death shattered Viki's world and left her a very young widow and single mom to their 3 very young children.
While Viki and their children were surrounded with love from their family and friends the need for grief support was evident. 1 in 12 children in the state of Indiana will experience the death of a parent or sibling before they turn 18 and yet there are only 4 grief centers focused and trained specifically for children in the entire state of Indiana. That is approximately 130,000 bereaved children in Indiana needing support.
Our mission at Dustin's Place is to provide support in a safe place where grieving children, teens, and their families can find connection and healing through sharing their experience of the death of a loved one throughout their healing process. Dustin's Place believes that no child or family should grieve the death of a loved one alone.
*Volunteers - Dustin's Place is comprised of over 20 volunteers that work directly with our groups and are trained in children's grief and peer support grief groups.
*Dinner - Dinner is an essential part of our evening. Every night begins with a free dinner served to our families. One of the first things to go after the death of a loved one is dinner because that empty chair at the dining room table is a constant reminder that our loved ones are not there.*Peer Grief Support Group - We are not therapy, we are not counseling. We are a peer grief support center that allows people to come together with others who are grieving and experiencing similar journeys. Our children's groups are split up by ages and our adults groups are split up by the relationship of our loved ones that have died.
*Crafts - Every night our children's and teen's groups create a craft that focuses on that evening's theme. The craft allows the children to express themselves without having to have the right words to say as well as gives them something to take home and remember their conversations at Dustin's Place.
*Friendships - Grief is hard and that's okay because at Dustin's Place no one will do it alone. We bond together and make new friends, bringing hope and joy to everyone's journey.
Experiencing a significant loss during childhood often results in profound stress and adversity that can derail a child's development; however, providing appropriate support to a grieving child can help keep the child's development on track. Access to comprehensive, grief-focused, trauma-informed care is necessary to EVERY bereaved child. Childhood bereavement is prevalent and can have profound consequences and everyday we have children and youth in our community navigating through grief alone! With your help, we can accomplish our mission of No One Grieves Alone! Your $25 donation will give one night of grief support for a child!