The Nightingale Centre received a 2024 Community Grant to support its Through Loss to Compassion Leadership program. This program helps children, teens, and young adults who have lost someone close to them by teaching about grief, offering peer support, and building leadership skills.
Thanks to the grant, Nightingale expanded its peer-led approach and updated their program to include three groups: Peer Buddies (ages 5–11), Mentors (ages 12–17), and Facilitators (ages 18+), all of whom have personal experience with loss. The grant also allowed for the hiring a young adult leader who ran the Young Adult Group and helped create educational materials, events, and community activities with partners like the Guelph Public Library and The Grove Hubs.
Not only have the programs been successful, but for every age group served there were participants who found their time so impactful that they wanted to continue coming to the Centre in a more supportive role. During the winter and spring, 18 children joined grief groups, with 8 going on to become Peer Buddies. Of the 5 teens who joined, 2 came back as Peer Mentors. The Young Adult Group had 19 members, with 15 attending regularly. Because of this strong involvement, 3 young adult leaders were hired to continue through the summer. These young adults have been busy helping plan fall programs at the Centre and were instrumental in leading events like Mandalas and Melodies, Grief Circuit, Grief Out Loud, and Grief in the Garden.
One youth participant describes their experience by saying, “Since I joined Nightingale, I’ve been leading more towards being someone who helps out more with others in the way that the facilitators helped me.” The Nightingale Centre is showing that connection, healing, and learning to be a leader can really help.