Journey Program (Bereavement Program for Child Loss)

• The Journey Program is for any family who has experienced the death of a child, whether at Seattle Children’s or in the community.
• We provide pediatric grief support for children under age 18 who have experienced the loss of a parent/caregiver or sibling.
• We also provide support to help families cope with death, loss and the grieving process.
• Services are open to families whose child died at Seattle Children’s as well as families whose children died elsewhere in the community.
• We offer individual, couples, family and child grief support to residents of Washington state.

We are not able to provide mental health services. We provide grief support and companioning.

"I didn't even know what I needed when our child first died, and Journey was a place I could come and talk and others just understood."

– Parent

Services We Offer

• Culturally responsive grief and bereavement support
• Pediatric grief support with a bereavement clinician
• Pediatric grief workshops
• Individual, couple and family support
• Annual memorial service for families who are coping with the loss of a child
• Support groups for adults that are facilitated by trained and caring staff and volunteers
• Lending library for Journey families to access books on grief and bereavement for kids through adults
• Recommendations on reading materials and referrals to other grief and bereavement community resources
• Grief support to schools, businesses and communities experiencing loss
• Bereavement education and training for the community
• Events to support connections and community for bereaved families
• Maintain the patient memorial book that is located in the hospital chapel on the 7th floor

Families are welcome to visit the chapel to see their child's name in the memorial book, or Journey Program staff are happy to take a photo of your child’s name in the memorial book and send it to you.

If planning to visit, families will need to register at the hospital main entrance. Please bring a photo ID to aid in this process.

If you would like to know if your child’s name is in the memorial book, please contact the Journey Program.

We host quarterly community building events for grieving families. If you would like more information on these events, please contact the Journey Program directly at 206-987-2062 or journey.program@seattlechildrens.org.