Darcy Krause, Executive Director of Uplift Center for Grieving Children discussed the work of the center. 

One in five children in Philadelphia will lose a parent or sibling by the time they reach their 25th birthday. You could fill all three of Philadelphia’s major sports arenas and still need 60,000 additional seats for each grieving child to have a spot. While grief is a normal and universal response to death, children in Philadelphia often face barriers that can lead to a difficult grief process, including inadequate school support, limited financial ability to access professional therapy, and a general lack of awareness about the mental health needs of under-resourced families in the City.

Uplift’s Family Services Programming provides peer support for children, youth, teens, and caregivers through groups meeting in 6 sites around the city.  Their School and Community Programming reaches students in public, private, and charter schools across Philadelphia. This program also partners with community organizations and tailors grief programming to their needs, including Spanish-language speakers, justice-involved youth, the LGBTQ+ community, and families who have lost a loved one to an overdose or homicide death. Post-Crisis Interventions help stabilize school communities in the aftermath of the sudden death of a student or teacher through in-person and phone support as well as crisis support groups. We discussed more numbers, this year over 2,500 children will have participated in grief groups over 300 caregivers will be supported through their grief to help the children in their care.  Uplift will provide over 200 In-School Grief Groups in 150 schools throughout the city and their training and workshops will help over 1,500 professionals learn best practices in working with grieving children.   All of Uplift’s grief support services for children and families are provided free of charge. Uplift is funded primarily through donations from individuals and corporations and foundation grants, while receiving a portion of its funding through state and city government grants.  Learn more at  upliftphilly.org