Peer Grief Support
Children & Family Support Groups
Children and teens can meet regularly with others their age after someone in their lives dies. While they meet, parents and guardians can attend their own group. Both are offered at no cost.
What Happens in a Children’s Group?
Children and teens ages 3–18 meet in person for ongoing weekly evening groups. A child might talk, listen, or use an activity to share a memory. Each child chooses how much to share. Trained volunteers facilitate the groups, with oversight from licensed clinical program staff.
Groups are organized by age or grade and typically include preschool/kindergarten, early elementary, upper elementary, middle school, and high school. Offerings vary by branch. Call Ann Arbor, Capital Region (Lansing), or West Michigan (Grand Rapids) for local details and young adult options.
What Happens in the Adult Group?
While your child or teen is in group, you can meet with other parents and guardians who are grieving and raising children after a death. A licensed clinician leads the adult group. There’s room to talk about your own grief and about the questions that come up at home.
Parents can talk about what it’s like to miss the person who died while finding their way through the ordinary parts of family life.
How Mayla and Her Parents Found Support
After Arabella died, her older sister Mayla spent time with other young children at Ele’s Place. Keri and Will Ellis found a group where they could talk with other bereaved parents.
FOX 17 · May 28, 2019
How to Get Connected
Start by calling the branch nearest you. A staff member will talk with you about who in your family is seeking support and explain what happens next. You can also ask about referrals or written resources for a parent or teacher.
Start With a Conversation.
You do not have to have all the answers before reaching out. Contact the community nearest you to talk about support and next steps.