Willow House
14 Dec 2014- Details
Willow House was founded in 1998 by a small group of volunteer individuals committed to making peer support services available for children, teens and families coping with grief and the deaths of their mom, dad and spouse or their brother, sister and child. Presently, Willow House remains the only independent organization in the greater Chicago area whose sole passion and mission is … “to develop and provide supportive services for children, teens and families who are coping with grief and the death of a loved one as well as supporting schools and communities coping with grief and death.”
The grieving experience can be painfully isolating, especially for children and teens. Grief that is not attended to can lead to social, emotional, cognitive and academic problems, which for some, can remain as painful life-long challenges. Willow House families come together in a safe, nurturing environment to share their stories, their feelings and their precious memories. Most importantly, they provide support, understanding and friendship to one another. At Willow House our mission is driven by our firm belief that no child, teen or family should ever grieve alone.
Willow House is a 501c3 not for profit organization headquartered in Riverwoods, Illinois. Core services include community based peer support groups offered in Arlington Heights, Chicago, Libertyville and Riverwoods, including a group specifically for children and families grieving the suicide death of a loved one. Our School Program provides in-school support groups for grieving students with training and co-facilitation experience for school clinical staff as well as crisis intervention, consultation and professional development workshops for schools and staff throughout the greater Chicago area.
With licensed, experienced clinicians leading all program services, Willow House is a leader in the field of Children and Family Grief Services and as such, we are frequently called upon to provide consultation and support to schools and communities in crisis. For example, following the attacks on September 11th Willow House was called upon by the Chicago FBI to help provide support services for Chicago area 9.11 families and survivors.
Over the years, Willow House direct group support service has reached nearly 3,000 grieving family members and thousands more across the Chicagoland area have been served through our crisis intervention, consultation, community resource referral program, school and community outreach and education programs. We are dedicated in our mission and available by phone at 847.236-9300 or our website www.willowhouse.org
