“Everyone Else Had Their Dad”: How Briza Found People Who Understood at Valerie’s House

Before Briza walked into for the first time, she wasn’t sure what to expect.

“I was very hesitant about it,” she says. “Coming to talk to people about a loved one that died…”

At 13 years old, Briza had already experienced multiple heartbreaking losses. Her father died before she was born. She later lost her grandmother to cancer around age eight, and then lost her uncle when she was 13.

That loss brought her to Valerie’s House.

“I came right when my uncle passed away,” Briza says.

Like many grieving teens, she expected group nights to feel heavy and uncomfortable.

“I expected a lot of tears,” she says. “I’m not gonna lie.”

But something surprised her almost immediately.

“As we kept going through the group, everyone was laughing, we were making jokes, it was good times,” Briza says. “And I wanted to come back.”

For the first time, she found herself surrounded by other kids and teens who truly understood grief in a way many of her classmates and friends could not.

“Growing up, it was very different for me because everyone else had their dad,” she says. “A lot of my friends never lost anybody.”

At Valerie’s House, she found connection.

“I became close with the people I was in group with,” Briza says. “And then I started becoming close with the Teen Ambassadors. I hang out with them outside of group, and it’s just really good connections.”

What makes those friendships different, she says, is the shared understanding.

“It’s easy to talk to them because they know how that stuff feels,” she says.

Years later, Briza now serves as a Teen Ambassador herself, helping younger grieving kids feel safe, welcomed, and understood.

Her journey into leadership started unexpectedly during a Valerie’s House volunteer event.

“I was talking to Angela, and she pulled me aside and said, ‘Hey, I kind of see you as being a Teen Ambassador,’” Briza says. “And then she explained what we do… going into groups and engaging with the kids.”

Now, Briza says stepping into that role has changed her life.

“I feel like I can help kids not feel as alone,” she says. “I can’t fully take the grief off their shoulders, but I can guide them in a way to let them know that it will be okay.”

She especially loves working with younger kids in the Minnows group.

“They’re just so happy, and they look up to you all the time,” Briza says. “It’s so nice to build connections with them and let them lean on you.”

She says one of the most meaningful parts of group nights is watching friendships form between grieving kids.

“They help each other,” Briza says. “And some of them hang out outside of group now.”

During check-ins, Briza says younger kids are often surprised to learn that she has experienced loss too.

“When I tell them I lost my dad, my grandma, my uncle, they look at me and feel relatable to it,” she says. “I think it helps them feel comfortable enough to speak about it.”

The experience has shaped more than just her healing journey. It’s also changed her future.

“I was planning on being a lawyer,” Briza says. “But now I want to do social work.”

As she enters her senior year of high school, Briza says she plans to continue growing her role at Valerie’s House through an upcoming internship.

For her, the organization has become much more than a place for grief support.

It became a place where connection turned into purpose.