💌 Friends of California Grief Center,

Some people don’t wait for permission to love the world back into wholeness—they just begin.

Lyndsay Hartman is one of those people.

In Illinois, she meets people not at the end of their rope, but at the first thread of trust. As founder of Point to Point, she walks the path of harm reduction with fierce compassion—distributing Narcan, clean syringes, fentanyl test strips, and most of all, dignity. She quietly saves lives in alleys, under bridges, and in places most people overlook.

She calls harm reduction what it truly is: an act of radical love.

A former domestic violence advocate and TEDx speaker, Lyndsay serves as a steady, stubborn presence for those the world discards. Her work isn’t rooted in judgment—it’s grounded in relationship. Often, she’s the first person someone trusts on their way back to life.

Love doesn’t always come with flowers. Sometimes, it shows up with sterile water, a calm presence, and the belief that no one is beyond care.

To Lyndsay—and all who serve in quiet acts of mercy—we say thank you. 💛

💸 Facing Financial Fear & Professional Grief

A Catharsis Theater Journey Through Work, Worth, and Wreckage

In a time of rising prices and quiet panic, many of us carry debt—financial, emotional, and unseen.

Credit cards. Medical bills. Time debting. Procrastination. Regret.
It shows up in stalled careers, deferred dreams, and that quiet dread that grows with each cost.

This is financial grief. And it’s everywhere.

🗓 Sunday, May 18
📍 Blue Door Theater, Culver City
🕐 1:00–4:30 PM
🌱 Please RSVP for food + coffee count

✨ Featuring:

• Nikki Lewis, (Sage Haven Therapy)

• Brian Stefan, LCSW (California Grief Center)

• Suzy Taylor, trauma-informed financial planner

This isn’t therapy. It isn’t theater. But it’s real.
Bring your truth. Bring someone you love.
Let’s name the ache—and begin again, together.

🔗 Register Here

🪑 The Empty Chairs of Love

Virtual Catharsis Theater for Grief, Loss, and Meaning

“Grief is in two parts. The first is loss. The second is the remaking of life.” — Anne Roiphe

Grief doesn’t always look like a funeral. Sometimes it’s an empty chair at dinner. A version of yourself that vanished. A dream that dissolved.

This virtual gathering is for anyone grieving a person, relationship, dream, identity, or homeland.

We’ll gather through storytelling, grief education, and (optional) group activity—offering presence instead of pressure, and connection instead of correction.

🗓 Saturday, May 25
🕐 1:30–4:00 PM PT / 4:30–7:00 PM ET
💻 Zoom | Sliding Scale (Green Bottle Model)

✨ Facilitated by:

• Emma You, Senior Grief Counselor & Death Doula

• Brian Stefan, LCSW

🌍 We’ll also honor the layered griefs of May—Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, Mental Health Awareness, AAPI Heritage Month, and more.

👉 Register Here – come as you are.

🧭 Circle These Dates—They’re Worth It

🌿 HOPE Group: Healing Ourselves through the Present Experience

Spotlight on Suicide (SOS)
with Dr. Jamie Gamboa & Brian Stefan, LCSW

Since 2020, HOPE Group has been a refuge for heavy sorrow—a space where nothing needs fixing, only witnessing.

This month’s gathering invites us to face grief with honesty.
No need to run. No need to polish it. Just stay close and breathe.

🗓 Saturday, May 31
🕐 10:00–11:30 AM PT / 1:00–2:30 PM ET
💻 Zoom | Donation-Based | Open to All

Dr. Jamie Gamboa will guide us in the quiet healing of presence—the kind that sits beside pain until it begins to soften.

🕯️ No pain too vast. No silence too long.
👉 Register Here

🌊 California Grief Center

A Shelter for the Brokenhearted, a Beacon for the Lost

Grief isn’t something to fix—it’s something to carry. Like waves, it comes in surges: sudden, echoing, full of ache. At the California Grief Center, we don’t rush the storm. We tend the flame.

From one-on-one support to the deep dives of Catharsis Theater, we help people steady in the tide. We walk with students, parents, and whole communities—and now offer virtual support wherever you are.

🌀 Learn more: www.caligrief.com

— Brian Stefan, LCSW
Founder, California Grief Center