Journey Grief Support Program

The Journey Grief Support Program is for any family who has experienced the death of a child, whether at Seattle Children’s or in the community.
We provide pediatric grief support for children under age 18 who have experienced the loss of a parent/caregiver or sibling.
We also provide support to help families cope with death, loss and the grieving process.
Services are open to families whose child died at Seattle Children’s as well as families whose children died elsewhere in the community.
We offer individual, couples, family and child grief support to residents of Washington state.

We are not able to provide mental health services. We provide grief support and companioning.

"I didn't even know what I needed when our child first died, and Journey was a place I could come and talk and others just understood."

– Parent

Services We Offer

Culturally responsive grief and bereavement support
Pediatric grief support with a bereavement clinician
Pediatric grief workshops
Individual, couple and family support
Annual memorial service for families who are coping with the loss of a child
Support groups for adults that are facilitated by trained and caring staff and volunteers
Lending library for Journey families to access books on grief and bereavement for kids through adults
Recommendations on reading materials and referrals to other grief and bereavement community resources
Grief support to schools, businesses and communities experiencing loss
Bereavement education and training for the community
Events to support connections and community for bereaved families
Maintain the patient memorial book that is located in the hospital chapel on the 7th floor

If planning to visit, families will need to register at the hospital main entrance. Please bring a photo ID to aid in this process.

If you would like to know if your child’s name is in the memorial book, please contact the Journey Grief Support Program.

We host quarterly community building events for grieving families. If you would like more information on these events, please contact the Journey Grief Support Program.

Resources

Books

Here are some books families find helpful and a link to additional books for grief support (link to Google Drive of inventory). If you would like a book mailed to you, please reach out to the Journey Grief Program.

Bearing the Unbearable: Love, Loss, and the Heartbreaking Path of Grief, Joanne Cacciotore
How to Help Children Through a Parent’s Serious Illness, Kathleen McCue
Talking About Death: A Dialogue Between Parent and Child, Earl A. Grollman
How Do We Tell the Children?, Dan Schaeffer and Christine Lyons
When Someone Very Special Dies, Marge Heegaard
What Does That Mean?, Harold Ivan Smith and Joy Johnson
Lifetimes, Bryan Mellonie and Robert Ingpen

Support groups

The Journey Grief Support Program offers a free, hybrid drop-in grief support group for parents who have experienced the death of a child. The group meets monthly from September through June. Contact the Journey Grief Support Program if you are interested in learning more.

The Journey Grief Support Program is re-developing free age-specific closed support groups. If you are interested in being contacted when a group is available, please contact the Journey Grief Support Program.

Parent Suport (PS), hosted at Seattle Children's, is a parent volunteer-led organization that provides support groups for those who have experienced a loss from miscarriage, stillbirth or infant loss. PS groups are led by parent volunteers who have experienced childhood loss. Visit the PS website for current meeting dates, times and locations throughout the Puget Sound area, including an in-person option at Seattle Children's.

Hosted groups are organized and facilitated by volunteer family leaders or community organizations.

Spiritual Care

Chaplains are available 24 hours a day to provide respectful spiritual care and emotional support to patients, families, faculty and staff. Learn more about Spiritual Care at Seattle Children's.

Meet the Team

Journey Grief Support Program staff and clinicians are available during standard business hours, with clinician schedules varying throughout the week. Our goal is to return your call or email within 3 business days. We do not maintain a waitlist for support services.

For support and resources, contact the Journey Grief Support Program.