Youth in the foster care system often experience grief from both death and non-death losses. Through Dougy Center's L.Y.G.H.T. program, these kids can receive grief support in much the same way as our bereavement groups.
Based on The Dougy Center Model, Listening and Led by Youth in Foster Care: Grief, Hope, and Transitions (L.Y.G.H.T.) is a trauma-informed peer grief support program, organized and implemented much like our traditional groups. L.Y.G.H.T. provides a safe space for youth in foster care to listen, talk, and offer support to one another as they cope with missing family, friends, and other important people, as well as other losses in their lives.
Thanks to the generous funding of our community partner, The Duke Endowment, the L.Y.G.H.T. program has been offered to youth in foster care in three cities in South Carolina. We look forward to growing L.Y.G.H.T to sites across the country, including Oregon. If you are interested in learning more about L.Y.G.H.T., contact Monique Mitchell, Dougy Center’s Director of Training and Translational Research, at monique@dougy.org.
