Our YAB (Youth Advisory Board) is made up of pre-teens and teens who attended Experience Camps and care deeply about helping the public understand how to better support grieving children. We give our YAB a mission each month, in which they share insights about grief and reflections from their own journey. We also use their insights and ideas to inform our programming, initiatives, and campaigns. Who better to hear from when it comes to childhood grief than young people themselves? Our application period for the 2024-25 Youth Advisory Board is currently closed.
Advisory Team
It would help keep people from being sad or mad or so hurt if people knew how to talk about their grief or about their loved one and what to say.
— Alex, age 15
By breaking the silence on grief, we create a kinder and more caring society where people don’t have to suffer alone.
— Amber, age 16
Even though you may think you’re being strong by bottling up your emotions, it’s actually very unhealthy, and the strongest thing to do is to talk about your grief.
— Ann, age 14
Talking about my grief has made me realize just how supported and safe I am. If I kept these emotions to myself then I might not be standing here.
— Annika, age 14
A lot of kids experience grief, and it could help a lot if they just let all the anger and emotions out and have a safe place to talk.
— Aryn, age 15
Being able to talk about grief will make people be much more prepared when they feel it and will help grieving people feel more comfortable.
— Erin, age 16
Grief is not talked about in our society without awkwardness, and it is difficult for those who haven’t lost someone to fully understand what grief feels like.
— Gabi, age 17
Even though grief splits us from loved ones, it binds us when we share with people we trust.
— Giovanni, age 13
Even though we shouldn’t have to experience grief and that its not fair, we wouldn’t be the people we are today without grief.
— Gracie, age 13
We should be able to talk about death/grief the same way we talk about other major events in life. It is important that everyone feels seen and heard along their grief journey.
— Grayson, age 16
It’s hard to find people that have gone through the same grief as us. I am always willing to share my grief story first to make others feel comfortable.
— Janiyah, age 18
When people avoid talking about it, it can make you feel like your pain isn’t valid or that you should “move on” quickly.
— Jaymul, age 16
Talking about grief for the first time may make you very sad or depressed but eventually you will break through and know how to handle it.
— Javier, age 14
By avoiding conversations about grief, society creates more pain for grievers by making us feel alienated.
— Leila, age 16
Losing someone is difficult, and it makes us feel alone. If society could be better about how to respond to us, we would not feel so alone.
— Lola, age 13
So many people bottle their grief inside and never deal with it, and that’s not good for your mental health.
— Olivia, age 17
If people in our society get better at talking about grief, it can create a support system where no one feels like they have to go through their loss alone, and everyone feels seen and heard.
— Riya, age 14
It’s important that people in our society get better at talking about grief because the way someone responds to a person experiencing grief can affect that person to a great extent.
— Sarafina, age 16
It’s helpful to understand that you are not alone in your grief struggle. There is power in numbers and knowing you do not have to face your fight alone.
— Simone, age 16
Learning how to speak about death and listen to others share their personal stories about death has been extremely important and healing for me.
— Teelin, age 15
Content Team
Talking about your grief is best because it helps you let out the emotions and how you feel.
— Andre, age 17
Grief is an ongoing battle in so many lives, and the support, knowledge, and awareness from others is so vital in bettering our situation.
— Bella, age 17
Expressing your grief allows you to process your emotions and find support from those who understand what you’re going through.
— Dom, age 16
It is important that people in our society get better at talking about grief because it is something we all will deal with in our lives.
— Ethan, age 16
It is important for society to get better at talking about grief because it’s something everyone experiences one way Or another.
— Leila, age 15
I believe it is important that people in our society get better with/when talking about grief because there are so many children and adults who have experienced grief and trauma that need to be heard and seen.
— Lexi, age 13
Grief is usually shoved under a rug. No matter how long it has been, your grief will still be there, and while it evolves and changes as you grow, it will still affect you in different ways throughout your life.
— Nico H., age 15
I think society needs to get better at talking about grief, even though it is hard. The people who are going through a tough time dealing with grief (which is everyone), need an outlet to talk about it sometimes.
— Niko, age 12
If everyone talked about grief, then nobody would ever feel uncomfortable, and we could all be real.
— Les, age 17
Grief is a hard thing to go through and an even harder thing to talk about sometimes, but if we don’t talk about it, then a lot of people will go into crisis.
— Quincy, age 17
It is important that people get better at talking about their grief so others can understand, help them through what they are going through, and give them the support that they need.
— Zoe, age 14
The more we talk about grief- the more we can build better ways to support those who have experienced a loss instead of always walking on eggshells around these issues.
— Tina, age 17
Talking about your grief cannot only help you cope and keep you going in your grief journey, it can also help others.
— Valentina, age 14