GRAND RAPIDS, Mich-- An organization aimed at helping children and families with grief celebrated a milestone on Thursday.
Community members gathered at New Vintage Place in Grand Rapids for the fifth annual Fall Reception for Ele's Place. The event featured remarks by keynote speaker, Austin Hatch, who's no stranger to grief.
"I was in a plane crash in 2003 that claimed the lives of my mom, my sister and brother. And tragically, 8 years later, I was involved in another plane crash that claims of the lives of my father and second mother," said Hatch.
The University of Michigan alumnus says it's groups like Ele's Place that helped him cope with his grief and says he hopes his story inspires others to open up about what they're feeling.
"This kind of organization right here hits home with me and the services it provides to people are really valuable," said Hatch. "Sometimes we close off and want to try to do it ourselves. It’s understandable to some degree because we don’t think other people know what we’re going through, they don’t know what it’s like. [It] may be true, but people are doing their best to help us and I think we need to let people help us."
"I think Austin is not only a phenomenal story [but] he also brings some realness and authenticity and the fact it’s okay to talk about grief," said Ele's Place board member, Sarah Brodhead.
According to Ele's Place, 1 in 12 children in Michigan will lose a parent. They're hoping to raise more awareness about the statistic and the need for programming to get into schools.
"It means there can’t be enough people trying to do this work and really make sure children have the resources they need to really navigate their grief in a healthy way and to move through with peace and hope moving forward in their new normal," said Jaime Counterman, the Director of Ele's Place in Grand Rapids.
During Thursday's ceremony, Ele's Place honored Sue Jandernoa as its 2018 Visionary Award recipient. Sue is a founding board member of Ele's Place and helped bring it to West Michigan.
The Ele's Place in Grand Rapids is one of four locations throughout Michigan. They also have centers in Ann Arbor, Lansing and Flint.
