Valerie's House-Pensacola expanding to offer grief support for families in need

Valerie’s House-Pensacola, a nonprofit with its sole mission of helping children grieve the death of a family member, is celebrating its one-year anniversary providing services to the community this month.  

The special birthday celebration kicked off May 3 with a birthday party luncheon at the Pensacola Little Theatre with a packed room of supporters, Valerie’s House family members, elected officials, and community leaders. 

“The support over the past year to bring Valerie’s House grief support services to our community has been nothing short of remarkable,” said Valerie’s House-Pensacola founder Crista Brandt. “As someone who lost my own mother when I was 11 years old and had nothing like Valerie’s House to help me, I know our community needs Valerie’s House.” 

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Valerie’s House-Pensacola started with 20 children and 10 grieving parents a year ago and has grown to help more than 100 children and adults grieving in the community. The organization provides peer grief support groups in a safe, comfortable place on an ongoing basis, using a variety of art therapy, music, and other child-friendly techniques to help children cope with the traumatic death of a parent or sibling. 

One in 11 children will lose a parent before the age of 18 in Florida, and currently there are close to 10,000 children in Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties grieving. 

“We are getting about three to four new calls a week from families who need help,” Brandt said. “They finally have a place where they can go to talk about their grief and not have to stuff it inside any longer.”  

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Valerie’s House was founded in Fort Myers, Florida in January 2016 by Angela Melvin, whose mother Valerie, died in a car accident in 1987.  Since its inception, Valerie’s House has expanded into three additional locations, including Naples, Port Charlotte, and Pensacola. 

Valerie’s House-Pensacola is seeking a permanent location for its groups, and are working with supporters to find a cozy location to call their own. Since opening in Pensacola, Valerie’s House has been utilizing space donated by Big Brothers Big Sisters off Creighton Road.   

“We are looking for an actual house that we can turn into our grief support center,” Brandt said. “When we find that location there will be no limits to how many children we can help in our region.” 

Valerie’s House is in the process of finalizing a formal partnership with the city of Pensacola. This partnership would allow the organization to utilize one of the larger community centers to hold grief groups. 

Valerie's House is fully supported by community donations. More information can be found at www.valerieshouse.org/pensacola. To get involved, contact Crista Brandt at crista@valerieshouse.org.