Our Story

Valerie's House opened its doors in January 2016, but it was a concept a long time in the making. Valerie Melvin was just 31-years-old when she lost her life in an automobile accident in Fort Myers in 1987. She left behind a loving husband and two small children, including Angela, then 10-years old.

After high school, Angela moved away to college and eventually became a journalist, living in various regions of the country. Upon returning to Fort Myers in 2013, she wanted to volunteer with grieving children like she once was and noticed there were very few resources for children to connect and heal together. 

Angela began researching what was available for grieving children around the country. She visited them to learn how to effectively impact children, who often feel alone when someone dies. 

She began to share her story with friends and business leaders like Caryn Smith, and Sarah Owen, the CEO of the Southwest Florida Community Foundation. With the help of many other friends and business owners, volunteers, and funders, Angela's vision for a place solely to help children grieve came to fruition. 

Among their services, Valerie's House provides open-ended peer support groups and activities for children to heal after a significant loss in their life. Valerie's House is not a formal counseling center. It is a community and a platform for individuals to come together, share, and mentor each other through their grief. There is nothing like it in Southwest Florida — Valerie's House was the first organization between Tampa and Miami focused on supporting grieving children on an ongoing basis.

Valerie's House is operated independently and modeled from many of the concepts used at the nationally-recognized and acclaimed, Dougy Center for Grieving Children in Portland, Oregon, founded more than 30 years ago.