A Beacon of Hope and Healing for Western New York Families Opening in January 2025

by Gwen Mysiak

Death is the ultimate life disruptor. There is no greater pain or stressor in our human experience than that of suffering the loss of someone we love. Compounding the depth of such a loss is the pain and isolation of having to navigate grief in a death-denying culture that finds discomfort in supporting others through these difficult times.

Since 2013, P.U.N.T. Pediatric Cancer Collaborative has stepped up to meet the needs of grieving parents and siblings who have suffered a loss to pediatric cancer through a network of peer support. Time and time again, we have witnessed the sacred relief and peace of those transcendent moments where vacant eyes of broken parents bearing the depths of unspeakable pain could finally lock eyes with another who has walked in their shoes, and with barely a word being uttered, find the gift of true understanding.

We have listened in awe to conversations between bereaved children, as they finally have a safe place to talk openly about their sister or brother who died, and feel normal. We have heard teens talk to other teens and young adults about survivor’s guilt that comes when they live past the age of their deceased sibling. They also share their feelings of loneliness and invisibility in trying to move past their own grief to protect their vulnerable parents. We have received desperate calls from school leaders, asking for guidance in reaching out and supporting grieving students. We have been asked by our health care partners for better tools in handling families in the “worst-case scenario” aftermath.

According to the JAG Child Bereavement Estimation Model, 1 in 11 children in Western New York will lose a parent or sibling by the age of 18. Sadly, bereaved children are at higher risk of every negative outcome including mental health issues, substance misuse, academic difficulties, behavioral changes, and even early mortality. Grieving parents and caregivers struggle to support these children as they are in the depths and darkness of their own pain.

Believing that no family should be alone to navigate the death of a loved one, we are creating a safe, dedicated center that promotes health and well-being, where kids and families can heal together at no cost. WNY Compassion Connection will provide a supportive, empathetic haven for grieving children and families. Through outreach, we will also serve as an active beacon of grief literacy and education within our region’s schools, workplaces, and community. Together, we will work to foster hope, resilience, and a healthy path forward for children suffering the pain of loss through every developmental stage. Together, through the center and related efforts, we will be an antidote to the devastation and incapacitation of grief within a family.

We are honored to be working with partners from across the nation and our community to create a best-in-class family grief center for our region’s bereaved families that will be a source of help and hope for generations to come.

Gwen Mysiak is the Executive Director of P.U.N.T. Pediatric Cancer Collaborative.