When the World Stops, Valerie’s House is There

èBella Magazine

by Sarah Andrus

Behind every great organization is a leader, and behind every leader, there is often a story.

On a hot, muggy July afternoon in 1987, Angela, 11, a couple of months from entering middle school, and Lisa, 9, a rising third grader, sat waiting with their camp counselor on the curb of the parking lot for their mom to pick them up.

Their mom worked as a nurse, and it wasn’t unusual for her to be a little late coming from the hospital to pick them up. Their grandma pulled up to get them.

Sweaty and tired from a full day at camp, the sisters buckled in and rode home in silence. Shortly after arriving home, their uncle pulled into the driveway with their dad in the passenger seat, and Angela noticed his eyes were red and puffy. She knew something was off. They went inside the house, and the girls heard the worst words two little girls can hear, “Your mother is dead.”

Time stood still. Family, as they knew it, was shattered. A huge piece of their hearts and their world left that day.

The months following were a blur, but Angela Melvin excelled in school and cheerleading and led an active social life. From the outside, she didn’t show signs of grieving. And it wasn’t until college when she would overhear her roommate talking to her mother every night, that the mountain of grief she had been holding in began to surface.

Still, she pressed on, graduated from college, and pursued a successful career in journalism … until one day, the seed was planted inside her aching heart to return to where it all began, in Fort Myers, and create a place for children like her and her sister. She named that place Valerie’s House in honor of her late mother.

Valerie’s House took root in January 2016, sprouted, and has grown tremendously in six years, with three locations in Southwest Florida that have helped thousands of children and adults over the years.

Stori, 12, walked through the doors of Valerie’s House in April 2016, just a few months after its opening. Her head was down, and her shoulders slumped. Angela immediately recognized and felt her pain.

Stori and Angela

Stori’s mom, her best friend, had died suddenly from pneumonia. She knew Stori’s world had stopped and shattered. Angela and Stori immediately connected.

​Despite her initial reluctance to be in a grief support group, Stori came often and gained tools for understanding and expressing her feelings. Today, six years later, Stori helps lead grief support groups at Valerie’s House and lends the same understanding and support that she’s received from Angela over the years.

Families are forever changed after loss. Angela, Stori, and the hundreds of children that come through the doors of Valerie’s House know the aching pain of having a piece of their heart missing. They also come to discover the deep love and support of walking the road of grief and mourning together.

Stori names Angela as one of the most prominent female role models in her life and Valerie’s House an integral part of her success. Stori has graduated from high school and is currently studying psychology at Boston University with her eyes on a Ph.D. and a career as a therapist.

“No matter how bad things can get or how terrible a situation you can wind up in, there will always be a chance to get out of it and change for the better,” Stori said. “When my mom died, my entire world stopped. But Valerie’s House became my second family, and I know they will always be there for me and anyone else who needs them.”

Families come in all shapes and sizes, and Valerie’s House is a family with arms wide open for children and families whose worlds have stopped.