Reflections from Jean Marchant
Thirty years ago, grief support for children was difficult to find.
When Jean Marchant began her work in hospice care, she saw firsthand how families struggled to help children navigate the death of someone they loved. Parents wanted to do the right thing, but often felt unsure of what to say or how much to share.
“Children do best when they’re allowed to participate to their level of comfort and given age-appropriate information about death and funeral rituals,” Jean says. “Often what they imagine is far more frightening than the reality.”
As a chaplain working with families facing serious illness and loss, Jean saw that while adults had opportunities to process their grief, children were often overlooked. The programs that did exist were typically short-term and limited.
Around the same time, researcher Phyllis Silverman was hearing similar concerns through her work with grieving families. One day, a young widow participating in a bereavement study mentioned a television program she had seen about the Dougy Center in Portland, Oregon and asked a simple question:
“Why don’t we have a program like this in Boston?”
That question helped spark a movement.
Jean, Phyllis, and educator Judy Oliver began exploring what meaningful grief support for children could look like. They connected with the Dougy Center, received training, gathered volunteers, and began building what would eventually become The Children’s Room.
The name came naturally.
“We wanted children to be front and center,” Jean recalls. “The room was about space—emotional, psychological, and spiritual space for children to experience and process their grief.”
To further clarify that purpose, the founders added a subtitle: Caring support for grieving children and their families. Together, the name and subtitle reflected the vision they shared from the beginning—a place where children, teens, and their caregivers could find understanding, connection, and support after the death of someone they loved.
From the beginning, the goal was simple: create a place where children and teens could bring their stories, ask questions, and know they didn’t have to navigate grief alone.
Thirty years later, that vision continues to guide the work.
About This Series: 30 Years, 30 Stories is an ongoing collection of reflections from the community that has shaped The Children’s Room over the past three decades. For 30 years, all of our services have been offered free of charge to grieving children, teens, and families thanks to the generosity of our community. Learn more or support our work at childrensroom.org.
