Jessica’s House — Free Youth Grief Support Groups — Turlock, CA
Jessica’s House provides free peer support groups for children, teens, young adults, and their parents or caregivers who have experienced the death of a loved one. Located in Turlock in California’s Central Valley, Jessica’s House offers eight specialized grief support groups, each designed to meet participants where they are — in the specific kind of loss they have experienced. Founded in 2012 and newly independent as its own nonprofit since 2024, Jessica’s House has grown into one of the most comprehensive free youth grief programs in California.
What to Expect
Groups at Jessica’s House meet every other week in the evening. Participants are placed into groups by age, type of loss, and relationship to the person who died — so a teenager who lost a parent to suicide attends with peers who understand that exact experience, not just grief in general. Each session runs approximately 1.5 hours and is led by Jessica’s House staff and highly trained volunteers. Families arrive together, share a warm community meal, and then join their respective age-based and loss-specific peer groups. The combination of shared food, peer connection, and skilled facilitation creates a distinctive and deeply healing experience that extends beyond the group room.
Who This Group Is For
Jessica’s House serves children (kindergarten through high school), young adults, and their parents or caregivers who have lost a parent, sibling, or another loved one. Eight specialized groups include: Parent Loss, Sibling Loss, Hope After Suicide, Hope After Homicide, Hope After Accidental Overdose, HeartStrings (pregnancy, infant, and stillbirth loss), a Spanish Language group, and Tender Hearts. School-based grief groups are also available at surrounding schools in the community.
Why Peer Support Works
Jessica’s House was modeled after The Dougy Center — the first nonprofit in the United States to offer peer support groups for grieving children. The peer model is grounded in a fundamental truth: children and teens heal most powerfully when surrounded by peers who truly understand their experience. Research on peer-led bereavement programs for youth shows meaningful improvements in grief processing, coping capacity, and feelings of belonging. Jessica’s House extends that healing through its family model — ensuring that grieving parents and siblings receive support alongside their children, together but separately.
How to Join
All programs at Jessica’s House are completely free to families, sustained by community donations. Groups meet biweekly on evenings throughout the year, with a pause in May resuming in July. Spanish-language services are available. To get started, call Jessica’s House at (209) 250-5395 or email info@jessicashouse.org. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Jessica’s House is located at 1225 W Christoffersen Pkwy, Turlock, CA 95382.