In addition to ensuring visitors to the Museum are greeted with a welcoming smile, Kieran Barber volunteers with Katy’s Kids, a family bereavement program that meets at the Museum twice a month. This summer, he spent a week at the Dougy Center—the National Center for Grieving Children & Families—where he was immersed in theory, skill development, and hands-on experience running peer-to-peer support groups for grieving children and teens. We recently spoke to him about the organization, his experience during the trip, and how he hopes to apply when he learned to Katy’s Kids @ the Children’s Museum.
You just attended a week long conference at the Dougy Center in Portland, Oregon. Can you tell us more about the organization and its mission?
The Dougy Center is a nonprofit organization geared towards helping children and families cope with the loss of a loved one through peer support groups and the act of play. It was first developed in the early 80’s by a nurse named Beverly Chappell who noticed how the adults around her totally avoided discussing the issue of death with the terminally ill children at the hospital. The death of a particular child named “Dougy” Turno, who was described as a vibrant individual with a love for life, drove Beverly to begin forming peer support groups for families who had lost loved ones so they would not have to grieve in private. Over the next few years the Dougy Center was established, eventually growing into the world renowned organization it is today. They now offer several peer support groups geared towards young people along with invaluable teaching resources such as the Summer Institute which I attended.
What was your experience like?
The staff did a remarkable job at making everyone feel comfortable as soon as we arrived at the Center. Over the course of five days I along with 20 other individuals were trained and educated in a wide array of concepts related to being part of a bereavement organization. Every single day filled with valuable information that I was constantly taking notes. I was also so fortunate to work closely with the 20 other individuals at the conference. They were all such dedicated and driven people in their own different ways, and the majority of them were starting from scratch in terms of forming a bereavement organization which was really inspiring. By the end of the week our group and the Staff had grown so close that it made leaving very difficult.
How do you think your experience at the Dougy Center will benefit kids living in the East End?
My main goal going into the training was to help expand awareness for Katy’s Kids @ the Children’s Museum so that it reaches the whole East End. The biggest takeaway after this week is that as a grief support organization we cannot have a one-size-fits-all approach. Every family deals with loss differently. I think we’ll have to put in a lot of effort into welcoming new individuals to our group as well as maintaining those relationship over time. At the same time, we are extremely fortunate to have the Museum as a resource and I hope it can serve as a beacon of comfort for grieving children and their families.
I would like to extend a special thank you to Katy’s Courage, specifically Jim and Brigid, as well as the Children’s Museum of the East End for allowing me this opportunity. I’m really looking forward to applying my training to Katy’s Kids @ the Children’s Museum and the surrounding community.