Live and Grieve Youth™
13 age-appropriate sessions designed to help children and teenagers navigate loss in the communities where they already belong.
Program Overview
Grief doesn't check ID at the door.
Children and teenagers grieve deeply, but they rarely have access to support that actually speaks their language and meets them where they are.
Live and Grieve Youth™ is a 13-session program offered through schools, faith communities, foster care systems, and youth organizations. It runs in two tracks: one for elementary-age children and one for middle and high school students.
Facilitators receive training tailored to working with young people. Parents and caregivers are kept informed and supported throughout.
Two Tracks
Built for how kids actually grieve.
Elementary Track
Concrete, age-appropriate language and activities. This track uses story, art, and play-based approaches to help younger children understand and express loss in ways that match how they actually process the world.
- ◆Shorter, activity-rich sessions
- ◆Caregiver check-ins built in
- ◆Story and art-based processing
Middle & High School Track
Teens need more than reassurance. They need space to process without performance. This track creates honest, peer-connected dialogue that respects where adolescents actually are.
- ◆Peer-led discussion elements
- ◆Identity and meaning explored
- ◆Flexible, honest emotional space
Program Structure
Five phases. One arc.
Establishing Safety
Sessions 1–2. Building trust within the group, establishing norms, and creating a space where young people know their feelings belong.
Understanding Loss
Sessions 3–5. Age-appropriate frameworks for what grief is and isn't. No timelines. No right answers. Just honest exploration.
Expressing Grief
Sessions 6–8. Activities and prompts that give young people tools to externalize what can feel internal and overwhelming.
Remembering & Honoring
Sessions 9–11. Continuing bonds: maintaining a healthy connection to who was lost, through memory and ritual.
Moving Forward Together
Sessions 12–13. Integration and closure. Celebrating what was shared and building confidence for life going forward.
Where It Lives
Support where young people already are.
K–12 Schools
School counselors and social workers trained to lead sessions within the school day or after school.
Youth Ministries
Faith communities with existing youth programming, adding structured grief support alongside spiritual care.
Foster & Group Homes
Youth who have experienced placement changes often carry compound grief. This program meets them there.
Community Programs
Boys & Girls Clubs, YMCAs, after-school programs. Organizations already embedded in young people's lives.
For Caregivers
You're part of this too.
Parents, guardians, and caregivers are integral to the program. We know that when a child is grieving, the adults around them often are too.
Facilitators provide regular updates to caregivers without compromising the trust built in sessions. We also offer guidance for how to support your child at home: the conversations, the rituals, the language that helps.
You don't have to have the perfect words. You just have to be present. We can help with the rest.
Bring this program to your organization.
If you work with children or youth and want to offer Live and Grieve Youth™, let's connect. We'll walk you through licensing, training, and what your community will need.