Katherine Streit learned by example.

Growing up in the 1990s, she saw her mom fiercely advocate for services for Streit’s older brother, Andrew, who was born with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Andrew was diagnosed at age 10 and eventually received an individualized education program, or IEP. 

“I saw firsthand the difference high-quality, dedicated professional helpers made not just for my brother, but for the entire family,” Streit says. The experience inspired her to make a similar difference in the lives of other young people and families. 

Since 2018, Streit has worked at Philadelphia’s Uplift Center for Grieving Children, where she’s the associate director of school services and professional training. Known as Uplift Philly, the center helps youngsters in the City of Brotherly Love grieve the loss of a loved one, like a parent or a sibling.

About 60 percent of the kids Uplift Philly works with have lost a relative or close friend to homicide, often from gun violence. Others have experienced loss due to illness, suicide, accidents, or addiction. 

Streit supervises clinicians who facilitate peer support groups for children and adolescents from kindergarten through 12th grade. Youngsters—who are referred to the center’s free services by school counselors, social workers, and doctors—participate in group therapy and learn mindfulness and grounding techniques. 

“A lot of mental health treatment is focused on symptoms, like kids not sleeping or being disruptive in class,” she says. “We know the behaviors kids are exhibiting are how they communicate their grief and trauma.”

Uplift Philly works largely with Black and brown children, Streit says.

“Many end up punished for normal grief expressions,” she says. “We let them know that feeling guilty isn’t bad—it’s normal.” 

More than 96 percent of the participants would recommend the program to other kids experiencing grief, Streit says. 

“There are so many adults whose lives would have been changed if they’d had a chance to go to a grief group as a kid,” Streit says. “Everyone deserves to grieve openly and freely.”