Grieving is hard, and no one should have to do it alone.
Uplift's programs include:
• Virtual Grief Groups: Uplift provides peer support groups for children ages 6-18 who have experienced the death of someone close to them in a private Zoom meeting room. Youth are divided into age-appropriate groups, which are facilitated by master's-level trained clinicians and volunteers. Uplift also offers concurrent caregiver support groups, and Come Together groups for children in kindergarten through 2nd grade to attend with their caregivers.
• In-School Grief Groups: Uplift provides 6-week grief support groups for children enrolled at public, private, charter, and religious schools in the City of Philadelphia.
• Acute Community Loss Support: Following the death of a member of a school or community organization, Uplift can support youth, staff, and the larger community with age-appropriate activities, resources, and/or virtual acute loss support groups as needed. Additionally, Uplift can help create a plan in cases of terminal illness to help prepare a community for an anticipated death.
• The Philly HopeLine: A free, confidential helpline, the Philly HopeLine offers telephonic support for students and caregivers. Caregivers, counselors, and frontline professionals may also use the Philly HopeLine to refer families to services such as grief groups or drop-in programs. The Philly HopeLine is staffed by Uplift clinicians, who offer callers support after a death in their school community, a loss in their personal lives, or with the collective traumatic experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Uplift offers these services to professionals:
• Professional Development and Training: Uplift provides education on grief, bereavement, and trauma through school-wide professional development, training for clinicians, social workers, and counselors, and workshops for community members and caregivers. Our training sessions can be modified to be relevant for the role of attendees, as well as for the desired focus, such as survivors of homicide, suicide, or substance-related deaths.
03/30/2026
As the seasons change and spring begins, our grief may change with the seasons. Like the blooming of the flowers, our grief may feel present, hopeful, and alive. Or, like the thunderstorms, the rains, and the winds, our grief may feels heavy and loud. This is a gentle reminder from the team at Uplift that your grief is valid in whatever form and in any season. And in all of those seasons, for as long as you need us to, and as long as we are able, we will walk alongside you as you journey through your grief.
03/09/2026
Uplift is proud to be a grant recipient of the William Penn Foundation through the Foundation's Mental and Behavioral Health Services objective. The award, which totals $593,750, will support Uplift's grief support services for young children and their caregivers over the next three years.
More than 20% of Uplift's grief group participants are children in grades K–3 and their caregivers. Grief looks different for everyone and is different at every stage of life. It's important for caregivers to understand how young children grieve so they can help them make meaning and feel safe.
Funding from the William Penn Foundation will help at least 500 children ages 5-8 and their caregivers to access grief services over the next three years. Grief group attendees will be express their grief through open-minded discussions, creative activities, grounding techniques, and other therapeutic supports. The Resilient Parenting for Bereaved Families' parenting skills sessions will also teach grieving caregivers tools for regulation and resilience so they can support their families.
Uplift thanks the William Penn Foundation for supporting our belief that all grieving youth and families deserve respectful, easy to access, and culturally responsive care.
03/02/2026
Thank you to Belmont Charter Network for inviting Senior Uplift Clinician Lamya Broussard to speak as part of your 100 Years of Impact celebration. Uplift is always proud to be a partner of Belmont's schools.
02/27/2026
Uplift hosts the NACG National Alliance for Children's Grief National Conference next Tuesday, March 3 at Penn Live Arts. This is a FREE event, and all are welcome to attend, including colleagues and community partners who support grieving youth and families.
Senior Uplift clinician Samantha Anthony will present "How to Support a Grieving Child," a FREE webinar on Wednesday, February 18 from 5:00–6:00 PM. The webinar is hosted by the School District of Philadelphia and is open to the public. Learn how grief shows up in children, and the ways families can offer support.
Register ➜ bit.ly/pfu-grief-feb18
01/30/2026
There is no right or wrong way to grieve, or good or bad ways to cope, but what feels safe and supportive can be harder to access when the seasons change. In this video, Senior Uplift Clinician Samantha Anthony offers a few tips to make your coping more accessible when it's cold and snowy.
01/25/2026
This week on January 28, Uplift holds a free one-hour workshop for caregivers and community providers. "Getting Grief Support: At Your Doctor's Office" will explore how grief can show up in the body, how to speak to your healthcare provider about grief, and how to advocate for yourself and your child in medical settings.
Registration is not required. To join a workshop, scan the QR code or visit upliftphilly.org/WinterWorkshops
01/23/2026
Join Uplift in person and virtually as we host the 2026 NACG National Alliance for Children's Grief National Webcast. Uplift clinicians Samantha Anthony, Sam Middleton, and Katherine Streit will present on Trauma-Responsive Grief Support for Youth and Families Impacted by Homicide Deaths.
The conference will be held at Penn Live Arts (3680 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104) on Tuesday, March 3, from 1:00-4:30 PM ET. This event is FREE and open to the public, with a fee only for those seeking CEUs.
Beginning this week, Uplift will host free one-hour workshops for caregivers and community providers. All workshops will cover how to support children and families affected by grief and are led by Uplift's clinical team.
Registration is not required. To join a workshop, please visit upliftphilly.org/WinterWorkshops
12/31/2025
Kevin Carter, MSW, LCSW served as Uplift Center for Grieving Children's Clinical Director from 2017-2022. During his 40-year career, he has worked at several human service and academic institutions across the country as a clinician, administrator, and educator. As a social work clinician, educator, and advocate, Kevin provides training in areas of grief, loss, and trauma for organizations and communities to create supportive and inclusive environments for children, families, and adults. He is also a private practice clinician providing psychotherapy for adults focused on grief, loss and trauma.
As Uplift's 25th anniversary year comes to a close, we are highlighting some of the Faces of Uplift who have helped us get to this milestone year. From now through the end of December, we'll be sharing video interviews with the staff members, program participants, volunteers, and local organizations who form Uplift's community!
To support Uplift, visit: upliftphilly.org/donate-now
12/29/2025
Elizabeth Leonard is a program coordinator at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, one of Uplift's longest-running community partners. In 2021, CHOP launched Healthier Together, an initiative for youth and families in West and Southwest Philadelphia together with Uplift and the Netter Center for Community Partnerships at Penn. In the first three years of the program, 1,348 youth and their families received Uplift's free grief services through GRIT (Growing Resilience in Teens).
As Uplift's 25th anniversary year comes to a close, we are highlighting some of the Faces of Uplift who have helped us get to this milestone year. From now through the end of December, we'll be sharing video interviews with the staff members, program participants, volunteers, and local organizations who form Uplift's community!
To support Uplift, visit: upliftphilly.org/donate-now
12/27/2025
Dave Lafferty became involved with Uplift Center for Grieving Children through his friendship with Steve Doherty, Uplift's founding Board Chair. Over his eight years on Uplift's board, he proudly watched and championed its exponential growth, including new leaders and increased services. "
As Uplift's 25th anniversary year comes to a close, we are highlighting some of the Faces of Uplift who have helped us get to this milestone year. From now through the end of December, we'll be sharing video interviews with the staff members, program participants, volunteers, and local organizations who form Uplift's community!
To support Uplift, visit: upliftphilly.org/donate-now
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Contact The Practice
Send a message to Uplift Center for Grieving Children:
Uplift Center for Grieving Children helps children grieving a death heal and grow through their grief, while strengthening families, communities, and professionals’ understanding of how best to respond to their needs.
Our vision is to ensure that every child in the City of Philadelphia has access to free support after the death of a parent, sibling, or close loved one. Grieving is hard and no one should have to do it alone.
Our Services:
Family Services Grief Groups Uplift provides peer support groups for children, teens, young adults, and their caregivers who have experienced the death of someone close to them. Divided according to development and age, groups are facilitated by master’s-level trained clinicians and volunteers. While the children’s groups meet, we offer concurrent caregiver support groups. Groups meet in East Falls, West Philadelphia, Lower Northeast Philadelphia, and South Philadelphia.
In-School and Community Grief Groups Uplift recognizes there are barriers for families to get to grief groups at our main and satellite sites. In-School and Community grief groups function as mobile versions of our Family Services grief groups, allowing services to reach grieving children directly. Uplift provides 8-week grief groups for students in public, private, and charter schools across the City of Philadelphia as well as justice-involved youth programs and community organizations/groups.
Post-Crisis Intervention In the aftermath of the sudden death of a student or teacher, Uplift utilizes best practices to support school communities requesting assistance, often collaborating with the school district and other community organizations.
Trainings and Workshops Supporting grieving children can be difficult for many adults who work with youth. Through focused seminars and workshops, Uplift provides professionals and caregivers with the knowledge and tools needed to understand and respond to children’s grief.
