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Free tool · Family and healing

Grief support navigator

A few gentle questions, then a short list of support that fits. You can skip any question.

Find support

Private: what you enter stays on this device.

This is the printable version. Turn on JavaScript to use the interactive tool.

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Support for grieving families

You don't have to find your way alone

Grief after a death can feel like too much to carry, and searching for help can feel like one more task. This navigator asks a few gentle questions and then shows a short list of support that fits: peer groups, counselors, camps for children, things to read at your own pace, and support from your own faith or community. Every listing was checked on the organization's own website. Most are free.

If you are in crisis, or worried about someone, you don't need to answer any questions first. Call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (opens in a new tab), any time. It is free and confidential, and it isn't only for people thinking about suicide: counselors also help with emotional distress, or if you just need someone to talk to. In an emergency, call 911.

Grief takes its own time

There is no right or wrong way to grieve, and no deadline. The American Academy of Pediatrics notes that children don't "get over" a death in a few months or a year, and that milestones like graduations can bring grief back, even decades later (opens in a new tab). It also says children may hide their grief because they think sharing it will make their parents feel worse. The AAP points out that children's bereavement groups and camps, many of them free, help children talk about grief without worrying about upsetting their family (opens in a new tab).

A sudden death, such as a drowning, can bring its own kind of grief. The National Child Traumatic Stress Network explains that some children develop childhood traumatic grief (opens in a new tab), with trauma symptoms that get in the way of daily life. If grief is making it hard to function for you or a child, a counselor can help.

When a brother or sister dies

Grieving brothers and sisters need support of their own. The Dougy Center (opens in a new tab) suggests reassuring grieving children that they are not responsible for replacing their sibling, and letting them help decide how to remember their brother or sister. The navigator puts sibling groups and resources first when you tell it a brother or sister died.

How the navigator works

There are four steps: who the support is for, who died (you can skip this), what kind of support feels right, and an optional ZIP code. The ZIP code only builds links to official finders, like The Compassionate Friends (opens in a new tab) chapter locator, the Dougy Center program finder and the National Alliance for Children's Grief directory, and adds New York City options for NYC ZIP codes. Nothing you choose or type leaves this device. Faith-based and community-specific listings appear only if you ask for them, and each one says plainly what it is.

For more, read where to find grief support, losing a sibling and grief after a drowning.

What you can do today

  1. Answer the questions and save or print the list.
  2. Choose one listing and reach out this week. One call or one meeting is enough for a start.
  3. Put 988 in your phone, and tell someone you trust how you are really doing.

Printables, infographics and games

Printable

Grief Support Contacts

A one-page list of verified grief support: 988 and Crisis Text Line, groups for parents and siblings, and children's grief programs and camps.

Printable

Supporting a Grieving Sibling

A one-page guide for adults helping a child or teen whose sibling died: honest words, listening, remembering together, and when to get more help.

Printable

Talking to Kids About Death

A one-page guide to explaining a death to children and teens: honest words by age, phrases to avoid, funerals, and where kids can get support.

More tools: family and healing

Sources

  1. 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (opens in a new tab) 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (SAMHSA-funded)
  2. Grief & Loss in Childhood: How to Help Your Child Cope (opens in a new tab) American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org)
  3. How Children Understand Death: What to Say (opens in a new tab) American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org)
  4. Traumatic Grief (opens in a new tab) The National Child Traumatic Stress Network
  5. Support for Siblings Who Are Grieving (opens in a new tab) Dougy Center: The National Grief Center for Children & Families
  6. The Compassionate Friends (opens in a new tab) The Compassionate Friends
  7. Crisis Text Line (opens in a new tab) Crisis Text Line
  8. NYC 988 (opens in a new tab) City of New York
  9. Find Support (opens in a new tab) National Alliance for Children’s Grief
  10. Program Finder (opens in a new tab) Dougy Center

Updated