Valerie's House Summer Camp

Remembrance event on Pensacola Beach helps grieving families of lost loved ones

CLOSING CIRCLE AT PENSACOLA BEACH

VALERIE’S HOUSE PENSACOLA FAMILY

PENSACOLA BEACH, Fla. -- One in 11 kids in Santa Rosa and Escambia counties have lost a parent or a sibling.

Valerie's House in Pensacola says that's about 9 ,000 kids between the two counties. They offer grief counseling to kids and family members who've lost a loved one.

Since they opened three years ago, Valerie's House has helped 330 families and their numbers are growing.

They held a remembrance event on Pensacola Beach Thursday night. Families came together to honor and remember those they've lost.

Each of them had horrible stories of loss, but say Valerie's House has helped them overcome that grief.

"We help the kids identify some of the feelings that come up with grief," said Jennifer Elzweig, program manager at Valerie's House. "It can’t be messy whether you’re five or 50 and once they are able to start talking about some of those feelings we try to teach them some coping skills that they can use that can last them through their entire life. We do that by showing them that they’re not alone and introducing them to children who have similar experiences.”

Young Caysen lost both of his parents. Bennet and Asher lost their father in February.

10-year-old Frankie suddenly lost her mother when she was 7.

Her family says the loss has been hard. Her grandmother Tess now raising Frankie and her younger brother.

"Frankie came home from school ,her mom wasn't at the bus stop and they went in and unfortunately found her deceased," Tess Pease said. "Julian was there with her and it was really tough for all of us."

"It's really hard to talk about it, but it got better," Frankie Pease said. "I'm glad I came."

Linda Joiner lost her daughter Kayla Atwood to domestic violence. She was murdered back in January.

Joiner says the loss has been devastating.

"I couldn't breathe," she said. "I couldn't believe the way things happened."

Each of these families going through grief -- and each of them chose Valerie's House to help them.

The families say they feel a sense of community knowing they're not alone in their grief.

"I hope that they just feel a sense of community," Elzweig said. "I know that we’ve created space for them to grieve together because it’s a very human experience."

"To know I'm not by myself, I'm not the only one," Joiner said. "There's somebody else just like me that felt the pain and the loss that I feel."

Valerie's House offers free services.

Read the full article here: https://weartv.com/news/local/remembrance-event-on-pensacola-beach-helps-grieving-families-of-lost-loved-ones

Valerie’s House Announces $60,000 in College Scholarships for Local Grieving Students

FORT MYERS, Fla. – August 15, 2024 – Valerie’s House, a nonprofit organization in Southwest Florida helping children grieve the loss of a loved one, has awarded $60,000 in college scholarships for graduating high school seniors who have come through and found support in the Valerie’s House grief support program.

It’s the third year that Valerie’s House has offered the scholarships which this year are $1,500 per student. The scholarships are renewable for up to three additional years for a total of $6,000 per student, depending upon individual achievement. The scholarships are made possible due, in part, to a grant from Shadow Wood Charitable Foundation.

Ten local students were chosen based on an essay they each wrote about their personal grief story and how their loss shaped them as the person they are and the person they want to become.

The scholarship recipients are:

● Gabriel Dang of Naples, who graduated from Golden Gate High School and plans to attend Prestige Worldwide Sports Academy;

● Abigail Dotzler of North Port, who graduated from Liberty University Online Academy and plans to attend the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater;

● Talia Hall of Lehigh Acres, who graduated from Lehigh Senior High School and plans to attend Valencia College;

● Jessica McKee of Fort Myers, who graduated from Fort Myers High School and plans to attend Santa Fe College;

● Madison McKinnon of Cape Coral, who graduated from North Fort Myers High School and is attending Penn State University;

● Melanie Para of Lehigh Acres, who graduated from Lehigh Senior High School and plans to attend Florida Gulf Coast University;

● Anthony Pham of Fort Myers, who graduated from Fort Myers High School and plans to attend Florida State University;

. ● Sean Sorrick of Naples, who graduated from Marco Academy and plans to attend University of North Florida;

. ● Siena Sulmasy of Naples, who graduated from The Village School and plans to attend Florida Southern College; and

. ● Hayden Toms of Fort Myers, who graduated from Cypress LakeHigh School and plans to attend Florida Gulf Coast University.

“We believe it is important to empower our youth to strive for big things and to know that loss doesn’t have to limit their dreams,” said Valerie’s House Founder and CEO Angela Melvin Churchill. “We are very grateful to our donors who have made this scholarship program possible.”

The scholarship funds may be used for classes, materials, or anything they need during the school year.

“The students, whose families are all a part of the Valerie’s House grief support program, are asked to check in with Valerie’s House each college semester and tell us something that they worked through that was challenging during the semester, and something great that they believe they might have accomplished, “ Melvin Churchill said.

To donate and help the Valerie’s House Scholarship Fund, visit www.valerieshouse.org/donate

Valerie’s House opened its first location in Fort Myers in January 2016 and has served more than 5,000 children and their families from Lee, Collier, Charlotte, and Hendry counties. The organization provides a safe, comfortable place for children to share, grieve and heal together following the death of a close family member.

Valerie’s House has three Southwest Florida locations: 3551 Valerie’s House Way in Fort Myers, 819 Myrtle Terrace in Naples and 233 East McKenzie Street in Punta Gorda. Valerie’s House also expanded into Northwest Florida in 2021 with a home in downtown Pensacola. Valerie's House is a United Way partner agency and is fully supported by community donations. More information can be found at www.valerieshouse.org.

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Editor’s nore: AI was NOT used in the creation of any portion of this news release.

Photos:

1) Gabriel Dang (Naples)

2) Abigail Dotzler (North Port)

3) Talia Hall (Lehigh Acres)

4) Jessica McKee (Fort Myers)

5) Madison McKinnon (Cape Coral)

6) Melanie Para (Lehigh Acres)

7) Anthony Pham (Fort Myers)

8) CEO Angela Melvin Churchill and Sean Sorrick (Naples)

9) VP of Clinical Support Amy Strom and Siena Sulmasy (Naples)

10) Hayden Toms (Fort Myers

Valerie's House Naples

Watch the video below to learn more about Valerie’s House Naples!

Mentoring program at Valerie’s House Naples helping people grieve

Reyna Zwanenburg and Ashley McNamara have a special place in their hearts for Valerie’s House in Naples.

“In 2018, my mom passed away,” said Zwanenburg. “I was 11 years old. She passed away from glioblastoma, multi-form, which is a very rare type of brain cancer.”

“My mom also died when I was 10 from the same type of cancer, glioblastoma,” McNamara said, “and that’s kind of one of the reasons that I felt that I would be a great mentor for Reyna. We were around the same age around the same time the year that our moms passed.”

She came in shy and guarded, but with the help of her friends at Valerie’s house, Zwanenburg has learned to share her grief with McNamara.

“Definitely, you know, growing older, also maturing kind of makes you realize that it happened in the past and you just get over it,” Zwanenburg said. “It’s a hard thing to get over, obviously, but, you know, finding someone that had something extremely in common with.”

Valerie’s House is a lifeline for many kids in the community, often teaching them how to deal with intense emotions surrounding their grief.

“It’s not like having a parent either. It’s like less than a parent but also a guardian, so it’s like you don’t have that awkwardness,” Zwanenburg said.

Families at Valerie’s House constantly feel the absence of their loved ones but say mentors like McNamara help fill the void.

“Someone that they can almost trust and feel that they can just say what’s on their mind,” McNamara explained, “and also have fun to going out, right? Going on shopping trips, you know, so someone that can be there, and someone they can actually overlay on, depend on.”

Valerie’s House encourages anyone that is looking to be a mentor not to hesitate.

They say you can always make time to be with someone and believe it’s an opportunity to learn and help the other person grow.

Link to article: https://winknews.com/2024/07/18/valeries-house-naples/