Tidewell Grief Center opens in Ellenton to help bring grieving out of the shadows
Tidewell Hospice recently opened a first-of-its-kind Family Grief Center in Ellenton that will serve as a prototype for future centers across the region.
The center at 4151 37th St. E. — also known as Mendoza Road — provides holistic grief support for individuals, families and the community.
The Tidewell Family Grief Center is a dedicated space hosting free therapeutic programs, including one-on-one sessions, groups, art therapy, meditation or alternative therapies, and resources for children and adults.
The Family Grief Center has been in the dream process for four or five years but the planning began in earnest about two years ago.
“The impetus for the idea came when we realized that grief support needed to be in a place dedicated just to that purpose. We call it bringing grief out of the shadows and darkness and acknowledge that it is a very misunderstood, but important growth process.
“The center is a place where people can share their stories with others who have suffered similar losses and where they can celebrate their loved ones in a supportive, nurturing and non-judgmental environment,” Kenneth Kinzie, vice president for Grief Education & Support Services, said in an email.
The pandemic played no part in the creation of the center, it only magnified the need for having a place where people can go and keep the memories of their loved ones alive, he said.
“Tidewell has seen the need for grief support increase during the pandemic. We have had to offer formerly in-person services via zoom or phone groups and many of our clients have been further traumatized by the inability to have spent their final moments with loved ones due to fear of contacting the Covid virus. Many of them were never able to say goodbye or even visit in person,” he said.
A $1.1 million capital grant from the Tidewell Foundation, including a lead gift from the Eppard Family Foundation, transformed Tidewell’s former Ellenton Hospice House into the Tidewell Grief Center.
The Tidewell Family Grief Center also hosts a new expansion of Tidewell’s Blue Butterfly program, supporting grieving children and teens ages 5-18 and their families after the death of a significant person in their lives.
Tidewell Hospice’s grief services are 100 percent donor supported through contributions to the Tidewell Foundation and offered for free to members of the community, whether or not their loved one was a Tidewell patient.
To learn more about the services provided at the Tidewell Family Grief Center in Ellenton, contact Callie Weber at 941-894-1794 or cweber@tidewell.org.
To contribute to these programs, contact the Tidewell Foundation, Inc., at giving@tidewellfoundation.org.
