Tomorrow’s Grief Healing Event (Virtual) & A Love Letter for the Hurting

💌 Dear Friends of the California Grief Center,

In a world that often asks us to hide our pain, we’re here to remind you: your feelings matter.
This week, we honor small steps, tender love, and the quiet courage it takes to heal—together.

In This Issue:

🕊️ Fred Rogers & Hedda Sharapan
💗 143 Day: A Love Letter for the Hurting
💔 Events to Help You Heal (Live & Virtual)
🌊 What We Do at CGC

🕊️ Fred Rogers and Hedda Sharapan

Some people spend their lives chasing the next big step.
Hedda Sharapan has spent hers honoring every little one—even the steps backward.

From the first taping of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood to her role today a.t the Fred Rogers Institute, Hedda has helped shape stories that dignify children’s emotional worlds—and reassure the grown-ups who love them

In a recent reflection, she offered a phrase full of truth:
“Two steps forward, one step back.”
It’s not a failure—it’s the rhythm of real growth.

Whether a child struggles with focus, sharing, or just getting through the day, Hedda reminds us: regression isn’t weakness—it’s part of the long, long trip of growing.

And when she shares Fred’s lyric—“You can come now when you please”—it feels like a whisper to all of us:
Healing isn’t rushed. It arrives when it’s safe enough.

To Hedda—and to all who know that gentleness is strength—we say: thank you. 💛

💗 143 Day: A Love Letter for the Hurting

What kind of world asks us to swallow our pain, hide our grief, or suffer in silence?

Today—on the 143rd day of the year—we remember a gentler truth.

Fred Rogers used the number 143 as shorthand for “I Love You” (1 letter, 4 letters, 3 letters).
It wasn’t just a sweet habit. It was a philosophy:
That feelings matter—and love can light the way through them.

At the California Grief Center, we believe that too.

Grief is not weakness. Sadness is not failure.
And tenderness isn’t a detour—it’s the path.

Through Catharsis Theater and other offerings, we invite people to stop pretending they’re fine—and start remembering what it means to be human.

🕯️ Feelings over fixes
💬 Expression over endurance
💗 Love over loneliness

👉 Honor 143 Day by feeling something real.
💌 Forward this to someone you love who might need it.

💔 Upcoming Events to Help You Heal

🗓 Saturday, May 24

🎭 Becoming Whole Again: One Feeling at a Time
A Virtual Catharsis Theater for Grief Relief & The Empty Chairs of Love

Facilitated by Brian Stefan, LCSW | Zoom | 1:30–4:00 PM PT / 4:30–7:00 PM ET

Grief doesn’t always wear black.
Sometimes it sounds like a name you don’t say anymore.
Feels like an empty chair at dinner.
Lives in the pause between heartbeats—where something once was.

This gathering is for anyone mourning a person, a path, a homeland—or the version of themselves they used to be.

💻 Zoom | Sliding Scale (Green Bottle Model)
✨ Facilitated by Brian Stefan, LCSW
🌸 We’ll also honor May’s quiet sorrows: Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, Mental Health Awareness, and AAPI Heritage Month.

👉 Register Here – Come As You Are

🗓 Sunday, June 1

🌬️ Breathing in Fear, Breathing Out Relief
In-Person Catharsis Theater for Anxiety & Fear

“The dizziness of freedom.” — Søren Kierkegaard

This gathering is for anyone caught in panic, overthinking, or that quiet, aching dread.

Together, we’ll explore the many faces of anxiety through story, movement, and compassionate, optional participation.
Come as you are. No fixing. Just feeling, witnessing—and maybe—unfreezing.

🕐 1:30–4:00 PM PT
📍 Blue Door Theater, Downtown Culver City
💵 Sliding Scale | Adults 21+ | Light refreshments provided
✨ Facilitated by Brian Stefan, LCSW & Emma You, Grief Counselor & Death Doula

👉 Register Here – You Belong Here

🗓 Saturday, May 31

🌿 HOPE Group: Healing Ourselves through the Present Experience
🕯️ Spotlight on Suicide (SOS): A Gentle Gathering for Silent Pain

Since 2020, HOPE Group has been a quiet harbor for sorrow—a space where silence is honored and simply showing up is an act of courage.

This month, we come together to gently face the ache of isolation—and the quiet thoughts that arise when suffering is silent.

🕐 10:00–11:30 AM PT / 1:00–2:30 PM ET
💻 Zoom | Donation-Based | Open to All
✨ Facilitated by Dr. Jamie Gamboa & Brian Stefan, LCSW

🕯️ No pain too sharp. No hope too distant.
👉 Register Here

🌊 What We Do at the California Grief Center

Have you lost someone or something precious?
Do you feel stuck in your grief?

Grief isn’t a problem to fix. It’s a presence to honor.
And healing begins with one true moment—shared.

Like the ocean, it swells and recedes.
We don’t resist the wave. We carry the light.

Through individual support, group healing, and the transformative power of Catharsis Theater, we help people find their footing again—right where they stand.

🌀 Learn more at www.caligrief.com
💬 Reach out to schedule a free consultation or refer a loved one today.

With heart,
Brian Stefan, LCSW
Founder, California Grief Center

P.S. If this email touched you, consider forwarding it to someone who might need it too.

🕊️ “Facing the hurt together.”