SOFT LANDINGS
Losing a child is an indescribable heartbreak, one that no parent should have to endure alone. In a powerful response to this unimaginable pain, Brighter Days Family Grief Center has created Soft Landings, a comprehensive and heartfelt support initiative designed to provide grieving parents with the solace, strength, and community they so desperately need.
About soft landings
Soft Landings is the first of its kind response to the thousands of bereaved parents we have served over the years. It is a program designed to walk beside a bereaved family through the early days and months of deep grief, with continual touchpoints of support from our dedicated team of compassionate professionals.
With grief often isolating and overwhelming, Soft Landings ensures that parents and their surviving children do not walk this path alone. “No words can truly express the depth of grief a parent experiences,” says Carolyn Kinzel, Founder of Brighter Days and the visionary for the Soft Landings program. “What we can do, however, is stand beside them, hold space for their grief, and surround them with continual support through the midst of heartbreak.”
WHAT TO EXPECT
Soft Landings offers accessible, compassionate support through both in-person and virtual programming, ensuring that families are without barriers to care.
For up to six months, the immediate family will receive expert, no-cost support, including individual, couples, and family counseling with master-level professionals. A focus on programming for siblings and grandparents, often overlooked in child loss, is an essential component to care.
Families will also have access to specialized services such as home visits, safety planning, peer support, financial, legal and logistical guidance, and anticipatory support for parents confronting the painful reality of a child’s terminal diagnosis.
Chris Lillehei, MDiv, Program Manager
Chris Lillehei will lead the dedicated team of multi-disciplinary professionals supporting the families of Soft Landings. Chris has spent many years working with bereaved parents and families as a Hospital Chaplain and Bereaved Family Advocate.
dedicated and compassionate care
Chris’s role will go far beyond logistics—he will personally visit families in their homes, offering comfort and guidance as they navigate one of life’s most heartbreaking moments. Through these visits, he will introduce them to the program, ensuring they receive the tailored support they need through the dedicated multi-disciplinary team members assigned to the family.
Additionally, Chris will serve as a direct liaison to local hospitals, where many of Brighter Days referrals originate. His presence ensures that families leaving the hospital do not step into the unknown alone. Instead, they will be met with warmth, care, and a reassuring hand to guide them forward especially during a time when hope feels out of reach.
A message from bryce's blessings
“Bryce’s Blessings is honored to partner with Brighter Days Family Grief Center on their new program for grieving parents, Soft Landings. We deeply understand the pain and trauma associated with losing a child as we lost our son, Bryce. We fully support the program’s mission to provide immediate and ongoing resources to support parents and families during their darkest days. We hope that parents who experience life’s most difficult heartbreak find peace in knowing they are not alone while being guided through the early months of their grief.” Troy and Carina Borca, Forever Bryce’s Parent’s
Please help us ensure that all bereaved parents continue to receive this vital support by donating to Brighter Days Family Grief Center today.
A counseling session or a grief support group simply is not enough; life doesn’t pause between these moments. Time and again, parents have told us that they have had to navigate the depths of their loss alone, struggling through the darkest hours, forcing themselves out of bed, willing themselves to take a bite of food, and somehow finding the strength to return to work. As a statewide grief center, we owe these families more. After eight years of listening to their stories, grasping the full scope of their needs, and laying the foundation to truly support them, we stand ready to not just do better, but to transform the way bereaved parents are supported.
To request free Soft Landings postcards for your Bereavement packets, please contact info@bdgc.us
