Judi’s House

ORGANIZATION BACKGROUND: Judi’s House is a community-based, nonprofit bereavement center for children and families located in Denver, Colorado. Co-founded by former NFL quarterback Brian Griese, who lost his own mother to cancer when he was 12, and his wife, Dr. Brook Griese, a child clinical psychologist, the vision of Judi’s House is that no child should be alone in grief. In order to achieve this vision, Judi’s House is committed to providing comprehensive, innovative services for bereaved youth and families at Judi’s House as well as in school- and community-based bereavement groups throughout Metro-Denver and beyond. Judi’s House is also committed to contributing scholarly knowledge about the diverse needs of the bereaved and the impact of varied grief support services. Towards this effort, Judi’s House established JAG Institute, a center of learning, focused on expanding the evaluation, research, training and technology initiatives necessary to successfully disseminate trauma-informed bereavement programs. JAG Institute now houses the large-scale research initiative conducted in collaboration with the University of Colorado for over a decade. The integration of research and practice in our community-based setting has uniquely positioned Judi’s House to create social change around the issue of childhood bereavement and serve as a national leader in the effort to increase access to effective, whole-family care for bereaved children and families.