Our off-site programs meet the critical need for free grief support among Indigenous youth from our Northern and Southern Pueblos and those children and teens living in underserved, rural communities like the Española Valley. An estimated 27% of Native American youth and 15% of Latino/Hispanic youth in the state will experience the death of a household member by age 25. These statistics are compounded by historical trauma, poverty and systemic inequities which contribute to other ambiguous losses like erasure of culture or substance abuse.
In Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo, we facilitate a weekly onsite support group for grieving children at the community school and plan to host two Family Grief Nights in 2025 to support both children and adults. In Santo Domingo Pueblo, we are developing a new peer support group for 8–12 grieving children, shaped by guidance from our advisory team, and may expand to offer adult support as relationships deepen. In the Española Valley—where the opioid and fentanyl crises have shattered families—we are responding to urgent community requests by providing weekly grief support groups at McCurdy Charter School and Tony E. Quintana Elementary. A concurrent weekly adult grief group is also offered at Tony E. Quintana, recognizing the need to support grieving caregivers alongside their children.
