Culture of Giving
My Healing Place: A refuge of hope, healing and transformation for those in need
The death of a loved one — a parent, a child, a sibling, a spouse — affects us differently. It can be debilitating for some or transforming for others, as was the case for Khris Ford.
In 2007 Ford founded My Healing Place, a nonprofit centered on grief and trauma that provides counseling to individuals who have lost someone to illness, accident, suicide or violence.
“After the death of my son, Stephen, I learned that my pain was pregnant with the power to help others and deepen my own capacity for loving,” Ford explained. “I learned I could make the choice to move through my grief in that way. But most adults and children don’t know they can meet their grief and choose to learn and grow from it.”
Often people don’t know how to cope with their feelings of pain or anger, and that’s why My Healing Place can help. Trained counselors provide an ear, a smile, a discussion — and hope. They make sure that individuals in need know there is support. Julie Dickerson, a counselor intern at My Healing Place, practiced law for nearly two decades before deciding to give back.
“I went back to school to be a counselor because, while I enjoyed being a lawyer and mediator, I realized the people I worked with needed more than the legal system could provide,” Dickerson said. “They needed someone to listen, to be with them while they sorted through their complicated feelings, and to support them while they worked through their grief, loss, or anger.”
Assistance comes in many forms at My Healing Place, which provides everything from individual counseling and group therapy to classes on how to deal with bullying at school and how to use art to foster healing.
To find out more, to get involved, or to donate, go to myhealingplace.org.
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My Healing Place is a member of I Live Here, I Give Here. You can donate to My Healing Place directly from our site using the donation tool below