My Nonprofit Reviews

Jeff's Place provides a safe, warm and welcoming space for grieving families with children who have suffered the overwhelming loss of a parent or child. Families come to us frightened, overwhelmed and feeling very alone only to immediately realize that they are surrounded by others who know all too well the pain they are feeling. For many kids, being at Jeff's Place is their favorite place to be because they are not 'that kid whose mom/dad/sibling died'. Our families have a shared experience, and support one another in the most safe and beautiful ways to work toward building a new normal while processing their grief. We believe that the only one whose knows about grief is the person who is grieving and participants support each other no matter where they are on the continuum, gaining strength each step of the way. There are a lot of tears and there is a lot of laughter too. Jeff's Place helps people to heal and provides a place for hope to grow.

I never fully imagined the Impact Jeff's Place would have on me as a facilitator. It's not that I have any answers and I've come to realize, there are none when it comes to grieving. For each child, each parent, it appears to be a singular journey. Our role at Jeff's Place is to enable and encourage the paths to meet. For the kids, they feel 'normal' here. For the adults, they talk a familiar language. At Jeff's Place, following dinner, each child and then adult who would like, lights a candle..."I light this candle in memory of my mother, Ann', '...my son, John'. We use names, we provide a safe place to talk about how people died, how it feels, what you do when you feel sad, what makes you laugh when you remember. Jeff's Place is alive and caring and for the past 3 years I've had the privilege of observing transitions that I believe are a direct result. The courage of these families truly touches my heart. Parents and kids re-connect with one another in profound ways, having learned that they don't need to carry their pain alone. Strength is given through individual and shared experiences. Our leaders, Jenny Schreiber and Melissa Kennedy Panto arm us with gentle ways to start conversations. I am awed by their always seeming to know what to say and their encouragement to us as facilitators to trust our instincts. Protective walls slowly crumble here so that healing can begin. Who Jenny is and what she has done in creating Jeff's Place is nothing short of extraordinary.

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