Ashley Once Dreaded Valerie’s House. Now She Helps Others Find Hope
When Ashley Wong first came to Valerie’s House after losing her mom, Kelly Lynn Wong, she did not want to be here.
“I cried to my dad the whole way while we were driving here because I was like, ‘I do not want to talk about this with other people,’” Ashley says. “I really thought that it was going to be a waste of my time.”
Now, Ashley helps lead conversations about grief online through Valerie’s House’s TikTok account, where one of her first videos has reached more than 400,000 views and nearly 55,000 likes while sparking conversations about grief across the country.
“I think that’s probably the kind of video I wish I got to see before I started Valerie’s House,” Ashley says.
Ashley started attending Valerie’s House just two months after losing her mom during her junior year of high school. At first, she thought grief support would just be “a bunch of people crying together.” But after a few group nights, things began to change.
“It wasn’t just a sappy group,” she says. “It was an uplifting place.”
Ashley says one of the biggest things Valerie’s House gives her is connection.
“Being able to relate with people and have people who truly understand what you’re feeling brings me so much comfort,” she says. “It brings me comfort knowing that I’m not going through this alone.”
That connection eventually inspired Ashley to become more involved with Valerie’s House. During her senior year of high school, she partnered with Valerie’s House for an independent project where she created care packages and meaningful items for grieving kids and teens.
“I feel like doing that and giving back really made me want to do more for the community and inspired me to be more hands-on with Valerie’s House,” Ashley says.
Today, Ashley uses social media storytelling to help other kids and teens see what Valerie’s House is really about.
“I really want people to see that it’s so much more than just group,” Ashley says. “It kind of beats that misconception that people have about grief support. It shows all the fun we have.”
Ashley says watching people connect with the videos feels powerful, especially seeing comments from others on their own grief journeys.
“It created conversation and definitely outreach and a beautiful story,” she says.
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