Valerie’s House Pensacola welcomes community at Open House
/FOR MORE INFO:
Crista Brandt, Northwest Florida Director
Valerie’s House Pensacola
850-266-0795
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Grieving Families in Northwest Florida Have a Place to Call Their Own
Valerie’s House Pensacola welcomes community at Open House
PENSACOLA, FLA. April 24, 2023 – Children grieving the death of a loved one in Pensacola now have a cozy, comfortable house to call their own. After two years of serving the Northwest Florida area, Valerie’s House Pensacola (VHP) officially opened its new home to the community Friday, April 21 during an official Pensacola Chamber of Commerce Ribbon Cutting and Open House at 904 E Gadsden Street near downtown.
More than 250 people filled the rooms for tours and had the opportunity to speak with families, board members and volunteers about the services at Valerie’s House. Guests strolled through the historic home which has been renovated to include healing rooms, art spaces, and gathering rooms for adults and children to be together during their grief journey.
“Thank you to all the people who took time to attend Valerie’s House Open House. Hundreds of people walked through the doors of Valerie’s House at The Chadbourne Foundation Home to witness the impact and space we are providing so no child in our community grieves alone. The outpouring of support was nothing short of amazing” said Crista Brandt, Valerie’s House Northwest Florida Director.
Valerie’s House is the first and only non-profit in the panhandle with its sole mission to help children grieving the death of a loved one. The Pensacola chapter of Valerie’s House opened in 2020 spearheaded by Brandt. The program spent nearly two years in a donated space from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Florida before the Chadbourne Foundation donated a home of its own to Valerie’s House.
“The Chadbourne Foundation is indebted to Valerie’s House for enabling us to put our funds to use in an effective and palpable manner with the founding of The Chadbourne Foundation Home,” said Caroline DeMaria, Chadbourne Foundation Board Member. “We are also thankful that the founder of Valerie’s House, Angela Melvin, sanctioned a location in the panhandle under Crista’s passionate leadership.”
More than 230 children and adults receive support from Valerie’s House, including students at Pace Center for Girls, where Valerie’s House hosts an in-school group. Valerie’s House Peer-to-Peer support model helps children share, connect, and build bonds with other kids their age dealing with similar experiences. Children have the opportunity to decrease isolation, identify and become aware of their normal feelings of grief, and learn safe and effective ways to manage their difficult feelings. Valerie’s House helps make connections between the participants’ grief stories, so they know they are not alone.
15 percent of children in the panhandle are predicted to lose a parent or sibling before the age of 25. One in 11 children in Escambia County and 1 in 14 in Santa Rosa county will experience the death of a parent or sibling by the age of 18. Valerie’s House hosts grief support groups and other activities for children and families during the week at no cost to families.
To enroll a child who is grieving, or to find out more, please visit www.valerieshouse.org/pensacola or contact Crista Brandt at pensacola@valerieshouse.org.
Valerie’s House was founded in January 2016 in Fort Myers, Florida and has grown to help more than 3,000 children and their families across the state at locations in Fort Myers, Naples, Port Charlotte and at its newest location in Pensacola. The organization is named after Valerie Melvin, a Fort Myers wife and mother of two who died in 1987 in a car accident. For more information, visit www.valerieshouse.org
