A Dedicated Facility

The Caring Place provides a safe place in which grieving children and adults feel safe enough to share their feelings, memories and grief stories. Out of this sharing, children (and adults) begin to manage their grief as well. The existence of the Caring Place facility itself is a statement that children and their grief matter.

"It is only natural
that we and our children
find many things hard to talk about.

But anything human is mentionable
and anything mentionable
can be manageable.

The mentioning can be difficult,
and the managing too,
but both can be done
if we’re surrounded
by love and trust."

— Fred Rogers, Honorary Chairman, Caring Foundation from 1985 until his death in 2003

This quotation from Fred Rogers, which is on the wall at each Caring Place site, gets to the heart of what the Caring Place program is about.

We recognize that it is certainly very hard to talk about the feelings and memories that come up after someone close to us dies. Yet what we have heard over and over from children and teens of all ages (and from adults as well) is that being able to express these hard feelings and thoughts with others who understand us relieves a huge burden. Being understood and accepted is such a relief.

Often, those who attend the Caring Place are ready at some point along their journeys to take a further step. They see that their grief can be managed, even if only in small ways at first. This realization is helped by the growing ability of the kids (and adults) to talk about what at first might have seemed impossible to mention.

As Fred Rogers says, this doesn't happen without an environment of safety and trust. The Caring Place — as a program and as a facility — provides this environment where children can feel safe, where they learn to trust those around them. Out of that trust, they begin to talk, and out of that talking, often, they begin the long process of managing their grief.

In this context, the Caring Place is not simply a site for the program but a second home for the families who attend.

Dedicating a building to the needs of grieving children and their families tells the children and the community as a whole that their grief and healing are important. The Caring Place provides a sense of permanence in an impermanent world — something that these children especially need.

"In this Caring Place people are surrounded by others who remind them that it’s all right to be who they are at that moment. That is so important for children — and adults." — Fred Rogers