Local Childhood Grief Program Celebrates New Partnership

Submitted by Pillars. Photo: At the Buddy’s Place Caring Circle Celebration event on May 13, Steve Ryan (center) gathered with Buddy’s Place Director Michelle Halm (left) and Buddy’s Place Founder Linda Moran (right) to celebrate the success of the program.

In 2000, Linda Moran saw a need for a grief support program for children in the western suburbs of Chicago. A licensed clinical professional counselor, Moran was working as a therapist at Pillars at the time. With the agency’s backing, Moran launched Buddy’s Place, a Pillars program that serves children and teens who have experienced the death of a loved one. Fifteen years later the program continues to support children, teens, and their families—and at no cost to participants.

Seeing the vital need for these services, the Stephen Joseph Ryan Foundation: Guys Like Us recently announced a five-year partnership with Buddy’s Place to provide monetary support. Guys Like Us, founded by Steve Ryan, who experienced the death of his father at age three, has a similar aim: to help fill the void in a boy’s life caused by the death of his father.

Among the initiatives their gift supports is the expansion of Buddy’s Place’s bereavement curriculum to include more interactive components.

“Just as there are numerous types of grief, there are different ways to grieve,” says Buddy’s Place Director Michelle Halm, MA, MEd. “For grievers who need to do something rather than just talk about feelings, interaction is important. This gift will give the children a chance to go on outings to baseball games or to experience other recreational activities they may not otherwise get to enjoy.”

The gift also funds future presentations to professionals (such as counselors, teachers, and others in the community who work with kids) to help them understand how to talk to the children about grief and where to refer for help.

“Guys Like Us is pleased to partner with Buddy’s Place to positively impact more grieving children who attend the program—and to reach those who don’t attend Buddy’s Place through community presentations,” says Steve Ryan.

Pillars is the largest nonprofit provider of mental health and social services in the western and southwestern suburbs of Chicago. Serving 12,000 people per year, Pillars works to build healthier communities by providing quality mental health services, social services, and education to people of all ages. Buddy’s Place is a program of Pillars. Learn more at pillarscommunity.org.

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