CHILDRENS BEREAVEMENT CENTER INC

CBC provides compassionate support and care to children, teens, and adults experiencing grief and loss. Our organization is dedicated to offering grief support, promoting resilience, building community connections, and educating others. Our goal is to create a safe and nurturing environment where individuals can express their grief, share their stories, and receive empathetic support. We aim to provide a range of support services tailored to meet the diverse needs of grieving individuals, promoting healing and emotional well-being. We also strive to empower individuals to navigate the grief process and develop resilience. Our goal is to equip them with healthy coping mechanisms, tools, and resources to manage their grief and adjust to life after loss. By fostering resilience, we aim to help individuals find hope, strength, and the ability to navigate through life after their loss. CBC also aims to foster connections and a sense of belonging among individuals experiencing grief. Through our support groups and community engagement, we strive to create a supportive network and continuum of care where individuals can connect with others who have experienced similar losses, reducing feelings of isolation and promoting a sense of community. We are also dedicated to raising awareness about the impact of grief and loss on individuals and families. We aim to educate the community, schools, healthcare professionals, and other stakeholders about the importance of addressing grief in a compassionate and supportive manner. By promoting understanding and empathy, we seek to create a more supportive and inclusive society for grieving individuals.
Lastly, we are committed to advocating for improved access to quality grief support services and increased mental health resources. Our goal is to influence systems to ensure that individuals experiencing grief receive the support they need. We advocate for the inclusion of grief education and collaborate with community leaders to promote grief resources for all.

Offering year-round, free, evidence-based programming to over 800 participants annually, we employ our vision to restore a sense of hope for the future to children, teens, and adults who have lost a loved one through our multifaceted approach to addressing grief and loss. Our peer grief support groups help children, teens, and adults heal and navigate through life after they have experienced a significant loss. They are free of cost and offer a supportive environment for individuals to share their experiences and emotions with others, while simultaneously receiving comfort and validation from their peers who have similarly experienced a loss.

We have also expanded our community's capacity to provide grief support to individuals by providing trauma-informed training, customized education, and consultation services for professionals at hospitals, hospices, healthcare agencies, and schools. Our CBC Training Institute offers a four-part training series for agencies and providers titled, “Support, Strategies, and Self-Care for Providers Working with Individuals Impacted by Loss and Grief,” which focuses on the ways in which death can affect individuals across the lifespan.

We also work diligently to work with partner agencies in the community to bring programming to their participants. Our outreach coordinators travel throughout South Florida to establish and deepen connections with clergy, schools, medical providers, non-profits, and others to discuss the impact of loss and grief and how to link families to our free-of-charge resources after a death. The outreach coordinators facilitate weekly presentations to community organizations across South Florida focusing on CBC’s bereavement services and how to access our current online groups for youth ages four and up.

Lastly, we believe in constantly shifting our program offerings to respond to the pressing needs in our community. We continue to tailor our support groups, trainings, and community engagement pieces to support pressing needs.

We have developed a comprehensive set of capabilities to effectively meet our goals of providing support and care to children, teens, and adults experiencing grief and loss.

1. Expertise in Grief Support: Our programming team consists of mental health professionals with specialized training and expertise in grief counseling. They have a deep understanding of the complexities of grief and employ evidence-based therapeutic techniques to support individuals in their healing journey.

2. Tailored Support Groups: We offer a range of age-appropriate grief support groups, specifically designed to meet the unique needs of children, adolescents, and adults. These groups provide a safe and nurturing space for individuals to share their similar experiences, express their emotions, and connect with others who have faced similar losses.

3. Therapeutic Modalities: We incorporate various therapeutic modalities, such as art therapy, play therapy, storytelling, and expressive activities, to help children and adolescents explore their feelings, develop coping skills, and find healing through creative outlets.

4. Specialized Programs: We have developed specialized programs to address specific needs within the bereavement community, such as support groups for parents and couples who have experienced the loss of a child. These programs focus on helping individuals process their grief, strengthen relationships, and find hope amidst their pain.

5. Community Outreach and Education: We actively engage in community outreach efforts by providing educational resources to schools, community organizations, and professionals working with grieving children and families. By increasing awareness and understanding of grief-related issues, we strive to create a more compassionate and supportive community for those in need.

6. Advocacy and Collaboration: We advocate for the normalization of grief and the importance of quality long-term grief care. By collaborating with healthcare professionals and the broader community, we work towards ensuring that individuals experiencing grief have access to the necessary support and resources.

7. Continuous Improvement and Expansion: We continuously assess our programs and services to ensure their effectiveness and relevance. We actively seek feedback from participants and implement improvements based on their input. We also expand our offerings to address emerging needs, such as launching additional support groups tailored to specific types of loss.

The CBC has grown from serving eight children from five families in 1999 to over 1,300 participants last program year at four family peer support group sites and three adult peer support group sites.

The CBC now offers professional training on loss and bereavement, referrals, and conducts ongoing research on how our program is doing.

The CBC receives calls for referrals from all over the United States, but is not yet a nationally recognized name.