A program of Dougy Center: The National Grief Center for Children & Families
Issue 9, April 2023
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L.Y.G.H.T Hosts First Executive Leadership Meeting |
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Last month, Executive Leadership from six L.Y.G.H.T. community sites gathered to discuss the successes, challenges, program sustainability, and hopes for the L.Y.G.H.T. program’s future at each of their respective sites.
Some of the successes included providing youth with a safe space to process their feelings of loss and grief and having full-time staff serving as a L.Y.G.H.T. program facilitator. All community sites expressed their appreciation for the L.Y.G.H.T. program and their commitment to program sustainability.
Thank you to Tim Duncan (Vice President, Programs & Services) at Connie Maxwell in Greenwood, SC, Beverly Hardin (Executive Director) and Susan Strader (Director of Clinical Services) at Carolina Youth Development Center in Charleston, SC, Beth Williams (Chief Executive Officer) and Rev. John Holler (President Emeritus) at Epworth Children’s Home in Columbia, SC, Emily Parrish (Executive Director) at Children’s Attention Home in Rock Hill, SC, Cheryl O’Donnell (Executive Director) at Florence Crittenton in Charleston, SC and Katie Brophy (Senior Director of Clinical Services) at Thornwell in Clinton, SC for sharing their experiences about the impact of L.Y.G.H.T. at their community sites and working together to help us expand our L.Y.G.H.T. network across the state of South Carolina.
The consensus among Executive Leadership is that L.Y.G.H.T. is a fundamental program for service delivery at each community site and has made a significant impact on the well-being of youth in foster care who are grieving.
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Special Thank You to Our Funders! |
Thanks to The Duke Endowment, we are completing our second randomized control trial (RCT) on the L.Y.G.H.T. program and are so excited to share those findings after the study. And, thanks to New York Life Foundation, we are working toward expanding L.Y.G.H.T. to states other than South Carolina so more youth in foster care benefit from this critically important program. First up? Oregon!
We are so grateful to The Duke Endowment and the New York Life Foundation for their investment in supporting youth in foster care who are grieving.
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“I was grieving, so I [had] the opportunity to open up so I don’t have to keep those feelings inside.”
~ L.Y.G.H.T. participant
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12 Tips for Supporting Youth in Foster Care Who are Grieving |
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Are you a caregiver, foster parent, or case worker? Do you know a youth who has experienced being separated from their family and placed into foster care, and wonder “How can I help?”
1. Communication: Adults can be supportive to youth in foster care who are grieving by inviting youth to talk about any people, places, or things they are missing, being patient with how they choose to express grief, and letting them know they are available if youth want to talk.
2. Assurances: Recognizing and acknowledging how challenging it can be to be separated from family, friends, communities, traditions, etc. is essential to demonstrating to youth in foster care that their losses and grief are valid and significant.
3. Choices: It’s important to give youth the chance to have input on decisions about whether they talk about the losses they have experienced, whether they will, or will not, attend funerals/memorials, what to do with their personal belongings, and even things as simple as what to eat for breakfast or what shirt to wear to school.
4. Honesty: Youth in foster care deserve to know the truth when it comes to a loss in their life. They need adults who are willing and able to communicate openly and honestly, even if they are afraid of how youth might respond to the information.
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Join Us for SC L.Y.G.H.T. Facilitator Training, June 27-29 |
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This summer, Dougy Center will be offering a SC L.Y.G.H.T. Facilitator training on June 27-29, 2023. As the program grows across the state, so will our network of L.Y.G.H.T. facilitators! We are excited to expand the number of trained facilitators from all active community sites.
If you are in South Carolina and want to support a community site in the Lowcountry, Midlands, or Upstate regions, please contact SC LYGHT State Coordinator, Juliette Martinez, MSW at lyght@dougy.org.
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For more information about L.Y.G.H.T., send us an email or visit our website.
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