Judi's House :: Services

Judi's House Services

Peer Support Groups

As a peer support program, Judi’s House is designed to feel like a home and be an optimal setting where bereaved children can share their emotions with other bereaved children. That sounds simple enough, however it is a unique setting within our grief avoidant society, a society that does not recognize the impact of grief on children/teenagers. Judi’s House is able to provide this setting, because our staff and volunteers believe that every child deserves to grieve in a supportive and understanding environment. Additionally, the principles of the program are that grief is a natural reaction to loss; within each individual is the natural capacity to heal; the duration and intensity of grief are unique to each individual; and caring and acceptance assist in the healing process.

At Judi’s House, children meet in age appropriate groups (preschool, elementary, middle school, and teens). A mental health professional and trained volunteers facilitate each children’s group, but they do not counsel. Children lead each other in their grief process through peer support. At Judi’s House, children talk about their feelings, express themselves through art, music and puppetry, vent their emotions in the Energy Room, or create new worlds that reflect unspoken stories in the Sand Tray Room. We have four types of groups (descriptions follow) and the individual child/teenager decides how long they want to continue attending group. An adult caregiver must remain onsite while their children are in a group and they have the option of meeting with other parents in their own support group. Here they have the opportunity to discuss their own grief and learn about grief so that they understand their children's behavior better.

There is no cost to families participating in our services. Families who participate at Judi’s House are welcome to make donations, but no family is ever charged a fee or turned away because they cannot contribute.

1 * ONGOING GROUPS: The first groups started at Judi’s House were based on a model developed by The Dougy Center in Portland, Oregon (recognized as a leader in the field of children’s grief support). In ongoing groups, the children/teenagers meet in age appropriate groups every other week. And, as stated previously, each child/teenager can continue attending ongoing groups for however long they want and their adult caregivers have the option of participating in their own support group.

2 * TIME-LIMITED GROUPS: We started time-limited groups in August 2004 as a way to initiate children and their adult caregivers to the grief support work done at Judi’s House. The time-limited groups are an eight-week (weekly) series and the curriculum of the series is more psycho-educationally directed than the ongoing groups tend to be, especially for the adults. At the completion of the series of groups, all of the families have the option of continuing at Judi’s House in an ongoing group.

3 * SPANISH-SPEAKING GROUP: The Judi’s House Spanish-speaking group is similar to the ongoing groups, except that the children/teenagers and adult caregivers are not separated. The Spanish-speaking group is modest compared to the English-speaking groups at Judi’s House. However, our outreach to the Latino community continues and is starting to indicate a strong increased awareness about the availability of Spanish-speaking services at Judi’s House.

4 * IN-SCHOOL: Schools are and have always been our biggest referral source, so we stay connected to them by offering trainings on children’s grief support to school staff. Occasionally, a school will need help beyond the training. To help meet this need, Judi’s House is able to help one or two schools a year by providing an in-school group.

How to Join a Judi’s House Support Group

To start the process for joining a group, please call us at 720-941-0331 or send an email. We will talk to you about what you can expect when you come to Judi's House, schedule your family for an information session and send a Family Application Packet. We are happy to answer any of your questions, discuss your concerns and help you determine if a support group at Judi's House is the right service for your family.

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