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Monday 9am - 4pm Tuesday 9am - 4pm Wednesday 9am - 4pm Thursday 9am - 4pm Friday 9am - 1pm

Kara

Kara provides bereavement support to children, teens, families and adults. Kara is dedicated to ensuring that therapy services are accessible to the community.
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Our vision is to see people of all ages compassionately supported on their journey through grief so they can move toward renewed hope and meaning. Kara services offer emotional support and information to those grieving a death or coping with a terminal illness. Kara provides a safe place to express and normalize feelings of grief, to learn to integrate grief and move forward with renewed hope and

meaning. Kara offers both peer support and therapy

Kara peer services are provided by volunteers with experience in healing from their own personal loss; volunteers who are carefully screened, trained and supervised. Donations are gratefully accepted as we do not charge a fee for peer support services. Grief therapy services are provided by interns who have completed their course requirements and are working on their client hours for licensing. Therefore Kara provides services for a reasonable fee and program staff will be happy to discuss the fee schedule with you. Kara does not espouse a particular religion or philosophy. We encourage those we serve to draw strength from their own personal spiritual beliefs, family, friends and other community resources to build sustaining support.

11/22/2024

Flip the Script for Children's Grief Awareness Month

Recognize the Uniqueness of each Person’s Grief.

Join us in "Flipping the Script" this Children's Grief Awareness Month by acknowledging the individuality of each young person who is grieving.

Embrace Individual Needs:
• Understand that each young person who is grieving has a unique relationship with the person who died.

• Avoid one-size-fits-all responses and offer support that aligns with their specific context, relationship, and personality.

Meaningful support begins with recognizing each young person's uniqueness and listening to their cues about how they would like to be supported.

11/21/2024

Children's Grief Awareness Day is designed to help us all become more aware of the needs of grieving children — and of the benefits they obtain through the support of others. Children's Grief Awareness Day is an opportunity to make sure that grieving children receive the support they need.

Before they graduate from high school, one child out of every 20 children will have a parent die—and that number doesn't include those who experience the death of a brother or sister, a close grandparent, an aunt or uncle, or friend.

Please join us in helping raise awareness!

11/20/2024

Another principle of being grief-informed from the Dougy Center is that grief is person-centered. The duration, intensity, and experience of grief are unique for every individual.

Similar to how people are unique, their grief also has unique characteristics. No relationship between two people is exactly the same as another. This is why there would not be a universal reaction to someone dying, we all come from different perspectives and connections to the person. So to say someone may experience grief similarly to you is entirely possible, but it would not be exactly the same.

Additionally, grief is a condition a person has. It certainly can change our identities, but it is only one aspect of a person.

11/18/2024

Flip the Script for Children's Grief Awareness Month

Cultivate a Supportive Environment for Sharing

Join us in "Flipping the Script" by creating supportive environments this Children's Grief Awareness Month.

What Makes a Brave Space:
• Create environments where young people who are grieving feel safe to express their feelings without judgment.
• Ensure that both your words and actions communicate understanding and
compassion. Let's be the supportive presence that every child deserves.

11/15/2024

Flip the Script for Children's Grief Awareness Month

Get Moving: Grief is Physical, not just Emotional

This Children's Grief Awareness Month, "Flip the Script" by recognizing the physical expressions of grief.

Encourage Movement:

• Physical activities like walking or playing can be vital for young people to express and manage their grief.

• Physical engagement helps them not only to cope but also to connect with their feelings in a healthy way.

Let's move together in support of youth who are grieving.

11/12/2024

In observance of Children’s Grief Awareness Day (11/21), we invite you to our community training focused on supporting youth through grief. This opportunity is ideal for anyone who works with children and teens in a school provider or educator role. All are welcome.

The training will be conducted in person at the Palo Alto Sobrato Center for Nonprofits.

3460 W Bayshore Rd, Palo Alto, CA 94303

Register online here!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeSEdoNQeecpiZdIuiF94ipouzgGb07y-K96AmPbXsqHyBnGw/viewform

We hope to see you there!

11/11/2024

Flip the Script for Children's Grief Awareness Month

Press Pause on the Advice

In "Flipping the Script," this Children's Grief Awareness Month, we focus on empowering young people to express their grief on their terms.

Promote Genuine Interactions:

• Avoid clichés and fixed ideas about the grieving process.
• Encourage responses and questions that allow young people who are grieving to
express what they truly feel, not what they think they should feel.

Let’s respect the individuality of grief by providing space for personal stories and emotions to be shared freely.

11/09/2024

❤️‍🩹 November is Children's Grief Awareness Month: Listen and Be Present for Bereaved Youth | Navigating the Holidays Workshops Next Week | Join Our Candlelight Service of Remembrance Dec 12 - https://mailchi.mp/kara-grief.org/nov24

11/09/2024

The next principle of the Dougy Center core principles of being grief informed is that healthy adaptation to loss is fostered by psychological, physical, emotional, and spiritual safety.

Talking about experiences in grief is a deeply vulnerable topic: often it is about a person who played a big role in the griever’s life, and it can bring up strong emotions all across the spectrum. To begin to access these emotions and adapt to the new normal, a feeling of safety in every sense of the word is required.

Making a space safe goes hand in hand with making a space where grief is normalized, and where people are grief-aware. People who are grieving are seeking to be understood, such as how their grief responses are uniquely theirs. Sometimes people are going to grieve in ways that we don’t personally understand yet, but by being open to listening and learning about their grief we are able to garner that understanding. Safety comes with a willingness to try to understand unfamiliar emotions and reactions.

11/08/2024

Flip the Script for Children's Grief Awareness Month

Actions Speak Louder than Words

In honoring Children's Grief Awareness Month, "Flip the Script" by valuing the importance of follow-through.

Why Follow-Through Matters:

• Keeping our commitment to supporting young people who are grieving reinforces
trust and reliability.
• Our consistent actions provide tangible help that is a reliable source of support for them.

Let's ensure our actions match our words. Show up, follow through, and make a real difference.

11/06/2024

The holidays can be difficult for those who are grieving the death of a significant relationship. This in person workshop is designed to support you as you navigate the holiday season by providing you with tips, strategies and invitations for reflection to grow your awareness around grief this coming season. Our hope is that the workshop will provide an opportunity for space to share about your hopes and expectations, as well as to learn tangible tips and skills to manage the season.

This in person workshop will offer 5 potential break out discussions which include:

Reimagining Traditions

Young Adult- Reimagining the Holidays

Managing Family Dynamics During the Holidays

Addressing Loneliness: Utilizing a Writing Practice

Self Compassion and the Holiday Season

Please note this workshop will be held in person and will not be recorded. The workshop will be held at Kara's offices located at 457 Kingsley Ave in Palo Alto CA. When you sign up please note which break out session you would like to participate in.

You can register here!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfPzNv8pDOybChiXXb3jTggpm2UknJwZ1bWtFPPazK8MUuvKw/viewform

11/05/2024

Los días festivos pueden ser difíciles para aquellos que están sufriendo el duelo de un ser querido. Este taller en línea está diseñado para ayudarlo a sobrellevar esta temporada de celebraciones, especialmente durante esta pandemia. Nuestro deseo es que este taller le provea un espacio para compartir sus emociones y experiencias al igual que también proveerles herramientas, estrategias y conexiones para navegar los días festivos.

Registrarse aquí:

https://kara-grief-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEqdO2vqj4jGtBGBg6Lig9O6llnO8uMpK9E #/registration

11/04/2024

Flip the Script for Children's Grief Awareness Month

Listen Actively

Join us in "Flipping the Script" by committing to listening during Children's Grief Awareness Month.

Be There By Listening:

• Give young people who are grieving your full attention. Let them be themselves without interruptions.
• Demonstrate with your actions that you prioritize understanding their experience over quick responses.

Listening can comfort in ways words cannot. Let's be the support that hears first.

11/01/2024

Flip the Script for Children's Grief Awareness Month

Be Present

This Children’s Grief Awareness Month let’s "Flip the Script" by valuing presence over words. Remember that sometimes, the best support we can offer a young person who is grieving doesn't come from the words we say but from simply being there.

Consider these:

• Sit quietly with them, letting the young person lead the way in silence or sharing.
• Engage in activities they enjoy, showing you're there for support.

Your presence can be the comforting gesture that words sometimes cannot match. Let's show up with our undivided attention and care.

10/30/2024

“When I am lonely, I think of you and all that you brought to my life. Your memory rests gently on my soul.”

- Cindy Adkins

10/28/2024

The next principle the Dougy Center brings up of being grief-informed is that healthy adaptation requires a feeling of personal empowerment and agency.

Healthy adaptation to loss is fostered by personal empowerment and agency. Navigating the time following a loss is difficult, filled with uncertainty about what your future will look like. The death of a person close to us brings up a feeling of losing control: we don’t choose for our person to die, or the circumstances that can come up following a death.

Feeling a sense of control over one’s life is helpful when it comes to healthy adaptation. Of course, it is unique to the individual what feels like adequate control. For some it might look like a solid self-care routine. For others it may be through advocacy, seeking positive change in honor of the person who died. The most important piece of something feeling like control for the person is that it is their personal choice to engage in it.

When a person who is grieving is doing something, we may assume that we should step in and assist. However, this takes control out of the hands of the person grieving, so it is always more appropriate to ask before stepping in. Having control over small tasks, especially in the time when a death is still fairly new, begins a path toward healthy adaptation for the griever.

A large majority of the peer support volunteers at Kara are people who have experienced their own personal losses. They choose to honor the memory of their person through serving others going through something similar. Volunteers at Kara often report that they feel like they are getting just as much out of volunteering as someone going through the grief support services offered.

10/26/2024

We had over 200 attendees at our Walk'n'Run this past Saturday! Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to come out and honor their loved ones, as well as to those who came to support someone they know!

Also a huge shout out to the sponsors of our event, Palo Alto University, Fleet Feet Menlo Park, Greenberg Traurig, and Kiwanis Club! Your generous support allows us to continue to put on this event for the community, 19 years strong!

Picture Credit: Justin Chen

10/25/2024

“When the heart grieves over what is has lost, the spirit rejoices over what it has left.”

- Sufi

Address

457 Kingsley Avenue
Palo Alto, CA
94301

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 4pm
Tuesday	9am - 4pm
Wednesday	9am - 4pm
Thursday	9am - 4pm
Friday	9am - 1pm

Website

https://www.kara-grief.org/

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We had a fantastic first day @ #CampKara. Good morning for the start of day 2!

July is a very special month for Kara, focused on supporting bereaved children, youth, and families. Next weekend, we will host Camp Kara, a two-night experience from July 12-14 at Camp Arroyo in Livermore with about 90 bereaved youth and 45 support volunteers and staff present to honor significant persons in our lives who have died.