Welcome to Rooted: Grieving & Growing Together. This free program offers a safe space for children and teens to spend time together with others who understand what it’s like to have a family member die. Participants have the option to take part in discussions, play, art, learning, and activities for expressing grief in a supportive environment with trained staff and volunteers. We offer seasonal programming that fosters community and engagement with your own personal grief.
How the Rooted Program Works
Rooted serves our community’s grief support needs for youth aged 6-18 years old who have had a family member or someone close to them die. Our program offers peer support to youth and their caregivers. This is a non-clinical space that centers on connection, play, and community.
Grief can feel isolating at times, especially for children whose friends may never have experienced grief themselves. Rooted is a safe place where children and teens can connect with peers who are also grieving — who get where they’re coming from.
Our staff and volunteers do not provide counseling but are trained to support young people through age-appropriate activities as they express their feelings and experiences of grief. During youth sessions, accompanying adults are welcome to participate in group discussions in support of their own grief process.
Rooted: Grieving & Growing Together is based on the Dougy Center model for peer grief support and principles of grief-informed services.
All services are free, and dinner is served at each session. Sign up for a session below, or feel free to reach out with questions.
Upcoming Sessions & Sign-ups
WHEN: Tuesdays, October 8 – November 12 from 6pm – 8pm
WHERE: Heartwood House | 2136 State Route 20, Sedro-Woolley (adjacent to the hospital campus)
COST: FREE
AUDIENCE: Youth aged 6-18 years old who have had a family member or someone close to them die
After registering, our team will reach out to you to schedule a brief call to learn more about you and your family. This helps ensure we have the information we need to create the most supportive peer environment.
When a parent, caregiver, or sibling dies, it can be helpful for young people to be in a supportive space with other youth who are grieving. Family peer grief support is relaunching in Skagit through a new program called Rooted: Grieving and Growing Together (formerly known as The Landing) starting Tuesday, October 8.
Youth aged 6-18 years old and their adults can participate in a six-week evening program to share food, connect with their grief, spend time with other people who get it, and maybe even have some fun! There will be themes each week to support conversations, as well as plenty of time for play and expression.
Rooted is offered at no cost to community members and is facilitated by trained volunteers and staff. We ask families to commit to attending all sessions to provide continuity and uphold the spirit of peer-based programming. If you are not able to attend the fall session, please reach out to our friendly staff who can notify you when winter program registration begins.
Resources for Grieving Families
Frequently Asked Questions
We recommend joining when it feels like you can verbally process the death and share your story with your community. This can look very different for everybody and can be at various times for everybody. No one can decide the timeline for you or your family. If you are curious about whether it would be a good fit or the timing is right, you can always reach out to talk to one of our staff members.
You get to decide how and when to share how your person died to your children. Based on the Dougy Center model, we really value honesty and sharing the whole story in an age-appropriate manner to all kids. It is important for trust building and the healing process to know the full story. This being said, we will honor the way you want your story to be told.
To attend the sessions, you will need to register on the ROOTED website and complete a brief call with a staff member.
We urge everyone to plan to attend every session in the 6–week time period. We understand that things come up that might make it not possible to attend. For the safety and connection of the group, we ask that in those circumstances you let us know that you will not be attending.
There are no clinicians who work at Rooted. It is run by Americorps VISTA members and supported by trained volunteers. The model is inspired by the Dougy Center which utilizes a peer support model.
YES! Our services are completely free, and dinner is provided at every session.
Donate or Volunteer
Rooted: Grieving and Growing Together is provided free of charge to all participants.
We rely on donations from our community, and volunteers to support this program, and appreciate any support you can give.
