Grab a nametag, the photo of your person (if provided), and some pizza. Take a seat anywhere in the main meeting room and feel free to mingle.

Once everyone has finished their pizza, the site coordinator/Willow House Staff will ask everyone to gather in a circle. Everyone is welcome to share who they are, who they’re with, and who they are there to remember. Nobody is forced to share if they don’t want to.

After everyone shares, facilitators will lead breakout groups of peers to their designated rooms or spaces. We spend about 50 minutes in our peer groups and this is where we have our grief-based discussions.

The group facilitators will wrap up the conversation and lead the group in a closing in the breakout space. This could look like taking some deep breaths, thinking of a word to summarize the group, or sharing a coping skill for example.

The group facilitator will lead the group back to the main meeting space. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to let your group facilitator,  another staff or volunteer know. They will direct you to the necessary information or will be prepared to follow up with you.