Free Dougy Center Kids & Teens Grief Peer Support — Portland, OR
The Dougy Center is the original peer support model for grieving children, teens, young adults, and their families — founded in Portland, Oregon in 1982. The Center pioneered the model now replicated by 500+ children’s grief programs around the world and continues to operate free peer support groups for the Portland metro community.
What to Expect
The Dougy Center’s groups are explicitly peer support — kids and teens come together with others who have experienced a similar loss to share their stories, play, create art, talk, and remember the person who died. Groups meet every other week. Each kids/teen group runs concurrently with a parent/caregiver group so the whole family is supported. Sessions are led by trained volunteer facilitators with backgrounds in education, social work, counseling, or related fields, supervised by Dougy Center staff.
Age-Specific Groups
The Dougy Center operates separate groups for kids ages 3-5 (Littles), 6-12 (Kids), and teens 13-18, plus Young Adults (19-30), Adults, and Pre-Schoolers. Specialty groups include suicide loss, sudden/violent death loss, illness death loss, and groups for children whose parent has died, sibling has died, or grandparent has died.
Who This Is For
Children, teens, and young adults in the Portland metro area whose immediate family member has died. The Dougy Center groups are for ongoing peer support after a death — typically 6+ months after the loss for many families, though there is no required wait. The Center also provides national-level resources, training, and consultation to other children’s grief programs.
Why The Dougy Center Model Works
Peer support specifically for kids is rare and powerful. Many bereaved kids never meet another child who has lost a parent until they come to the Dougy Center — the recognition and connection often help in ways that adult-led therapy alone cannot.
How to Join
Call 503-775-5683 or visit dougy.org to schedule an intake conversation. Groups are free and run by enrollment. The Dougy Center also offers free national resources for families and professionals at dougy.org.