Good Grief provides peer-support groups for children, teens and young adults who have lost a parent or sibling to death.  We also provide support services for the children's surviving parent(s) or caretaker. These services are free of charge.

For a list of other resources, tips, and recommended readings please see our  Resources page.

To access our peer-support services for your family:

Contact our Director of Family Services, Mary Fleck, at 908-522-1999 x8002 or mfleck@good-grief.org to set up a Family Orientation appointment.

Visit our facility for your family orientation. See our Orientation page for details about what to expect.

Fill out post-orientation paperwork to complete the enrollment process for our Nights of Support, which will be emailed to you following your orientation.

Come to your first Night of Support. See our  Night of Support  page for a detailed schedule of the evening. 

Check to see when your Night of Support meets on our Center Calendar.

Our Night of Support groups meet either on a Tuesday or Wednesday night from 6:30-8:30pm. Families are assigned to a specific Night of Support and attend with that same group every other week. Families are allowed 4 absences a year. Please see our Family Commitment page for additional policies. 

In addition to our Nights of Support, we are continually assessing the interests of our families to create activities that meet those needs.   

Enrolled adult and teen participants comprise our Teen and Adult Advisory Boards.  For more information on this please speak with our staff. 

Through our special Bear Makin' Project, enrolled families may have a teddy bear created with the clothing of those who have died.  For additional information see our Bear Makin' Project page.  

Testimonials & Stories

"Having to tell our kids that their Mom had passed on was the hardest thing I've ever done.  It was also the beginning of honoring Kelli's spirit to do the very best I could in raising our four children, and establishing a strong foundation for our "new normal."  On our way to the center the car ride was filled with anxiety: we still didn't really know what to expect, or how we would feel.  I heard 'I don't wanna go...we don't need this...we're doing fine daddy'...even 'I've got lots of homework'.  Well, the ride home was...different than the way there.  It was a car filled with laughter, and comments like 'that was fun', 'I'm glad we went', and 'Lizzy, you talk more than anyone!'.  Good Grief enables us to sharpen our saws, so to speak. To remember, to share, to feel, to support, and be supported.  And of course, to grieve.  GG has helped us to learn how to live now, in the present.  In this very moment.  To know we are empowered to understand what grief is to us and to make choices that work for us as we move forward in our lives.  For me, and I know I speak for our kids, we choose what we know Mom would want for us: happiness.  And alongside this choice, we continue to evolve with this grief, this good grief, that we know will always be with us."  - Fred W., participant

"My head is lifted a little bit higher.  It's a little more clearer.  My heart, a little more healed.  These individuals holding my hands are not strangers at all...they are my friends & I need them.  I DO belong here.  They say no one knows how you feel unless they've walked in your shoes.  Now I know, someone has..." - Brigitte T., participant

"My son's kindergarten teacher said to me 'You know, Matthew is a happy kid. He's really just a happy kid.' I thought to myself, we can teach him anything, how to read, how to write, add and subtract, but I can't teach him how he perceives himself in the world. That comes from within built on positive experiences, a sense of security and belonging. This is what Good Grief is all about. Good Grief continues to be the cornerstone of our grief journey. It helps us develop ways to keep Daddy part of our lives, and in our hearts and minds in a healthy, productive way.  For Matthew and I, Good Grief isn't always about the grief...it's increasingly becoming about ways of living with the death of his Daddy." - Cindy C., participant

"The story of my family's good grief began about 20 months later (after my husband's death.) One of the many things I appreciate about the organization Good Grief is that they understand there is no time limit on grief. Everyone grieves in their own way at their own pace. The kids hadn't wanted to come, but ever since their first Good Grief evening they have been unwaveringly enthusiastic about it. Good Grief provided us with something else we needed: a group of people who in their own ways were traveling the same path we were - true companions in grief - and the deep understanding that comes from such companionship has made all the difference. I've always felt that being in a group with other children who were also grieving was enormously helpful for my children. When I asked my kids what Good Grief meant to them, Timmy answered immediately and fervently.  'When Daddy died, I thought I was the only kid in the world who had lost somebody. Good grief showed me that's not true'." - Rebecca D., participant