By Kris Maly
Ele’s Place Ann Arbor is a healing center that provides peer grief support for children, teens, and their families in Ann Arbor as well as the surrounding southeast Michigan area, free of charge, for as long as a family needs. Ele's Place Ann Arbor is the only nonprofit in our community dedicated solely to helping children and teens work with, and through, grief in a peer-based setting.
“Ele’s Place Ann Arbor was established in 2007, and we opened the doors of our dedicated healing center—our Home for Healing Hearts—in 2019. At that time, we were able to expand our peer grief support groups to four evenings a week, helping about 160 grieving children, teens, and families each week,” Bree Arvai, Branch Director at Ele’s Place Ann Arbor said. “Unfortunately, the need for our services will never go away, and we’re so grateful that Ele’s Place Ann Arbor is here to help when families need us.”
According to the 2022 Childhood Bereavement Estimation Model, one in 11 children in Michigan will experience the death of a sibling or parent before age 18. Children and teens who are grieving need access to a supportive environment and compassionate peer-based programming, as peer grief support can have a positive life-long impact on a young person. As the need for these critical services continues to grow, Ele’s Place Ann Arbor is committed to ensuring that no child or teen should have to grieve alone.
Before coming to Ele's Place, some children and teens have expressed feeling alone and isolated in their grief. They may keep their emotions inside and may be hesitant to share their feelings with other family members or friends.
“At Ele's Place, children and teens have a place to share their stories and memories, explore their feelings and learn coping skills alongside their peers. They have the opportunity to meet new friends who understand what it feels like to experience the death of someone in their lives,” said Hannah Brown, LMSW, Program Director at Ele’s Place Ann Arbor. “To promote healing, children and teens engage in a variety of activities with their peers, including the utilization of music, art, storytelling, writing, and play, and they are able to express their feelings in an emotionally safe space while being supported in their grief.”
Ele’s Place was founded in Lansing, Michigan, 32 years ago when a group of mental health professionals, concerned community volunteers, and grieving parents Betsy and Woody Stover, saw a need to provide bereavement support for the Stover’s three young children after the death of their 11-month-old daughter, Ele.
“After researching several children's grief centers across the country, they determined that peer support for grieving children and teens who had experienced the death of someone significant in their lives, was the best way to learn to cope with their feelings of grief, sadness, anger and loss,” Arvai said.
Ele’s parents also wanted the name of the organization to have greater meaning beyond their daughter, for all children and teens who are grieving.
“While the name of our organization—Ele’s Place—is named after the Stover’s daughter, Betsy Stover found an even deeper connection to the organization’s mission after searching in the dictionary. The acronym, ELE, stands for ‘Embracing Loss Effectively’,” said Arvai.
“Ele's Place Ann Arbor offers evening peer support groups for children and teens ages 3-18. Groups allow children and teens to realize they are not alone by connecting with individuals their age. Peer support groups for the child's/teen’s parent(s) or guardian(s) are also available, as it’s important to be able to support adults in their grief, so the family can continue their healing journey together,” said Brown, who has been with Ele’s Place Ann Arbor since 2013. “Our role is to be present with grieving families and to walk alongside them in their journey. We know we cannot fix what’s happened, however, we can be present with them and the feelings they have.”
Ele’s Place peer groups for children and teens are divided by age, typically preschool/kindergarten, early elementary, upper elementary, middle school, and high school, and are led by trained volunteers with oversight by clinical program staff. Peer groups for adults are split by type of loss: spouse/partner loss, child loss, other significant loss and suicide/homicide/overdose and are facilitated by licensed mental health clinicians. All peer grief support groups are provided at no cost to the families.
Arvai said that the peer grief support services Ele’s Place Ann Arbor provides are “100% free of charge, for as long as a family needs, and 100% community-supported, by generous individuals, companies, small businesses, and foundations.”
To fund their peer grief support programs, Ele’s Place Ann Arbor hosts several amazing fundraising events throughout the year, one of which is coming up on Saturday, June 24, 2023. “Everyone is invited to join us at our Healing Hearts Family 5K Walk/Run, a family-friendly event to honor, celebrate and remember a special person who has died. Grab your walking or running shoes and register to join us for our third annual walk/run,” said Arvai.
If families need assistance, please call Ele’s Place Ann Arbor at 734-929-6640 to speak with our clinical program staff.
Ele’s Place Ann Arbor is grateful for 16 years of peer grief support for children and teens in Ann Arbor, and the surrounding southeast Michigan area. The organization’s vision is that no child or teen should have to grieve alone. For more information, please visit the Ele’s Place website at elesplace.org.
Kris Maly has served as the communications manager for Ele’s Place Ann Arbor since 2020, after joining the organization as the project manager for the Capital Campaign in 2018.
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