The Cost of Courage. The Need for Care.

💌 Dear Friends of the California Grief Center,

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."
— Seneca

In a country aching with fracture and fatigue—
where honesty is punished and hope feels rare—
we gather anyway.

We gather to witness.
To speak heartbreak aloud.
To remember: integrity still matters here.

This week, we offer space to grieve, to ground, and to honor the quiet courage that keeps democracy breathing.

🔦 In This Issue

• 🛡️ Stacey Young: The Quiet Hero in a Time of Silencing

• 💔 Grief 101: Broken Heart Syndrome

• 🕯️ June HOPE Group (Virtual): Mindfulness, Fear in Dying, and the Sadness of Silence

• 🎭 Catharsis Theater (In-Person): The Role You Were Never Meant to Carry Alone

• ☎️ Political Grief & Loss: Bilingual Counselors Might Be Next

• 🌊 CGC Services: What We Offer

🛡️ Stacey Young: The Quiet Hero in a Time of Silencing

Sometimes history turns quietly—not with sirens, but with a resignation letter.

This past January, Stacey Young walked away from an 18-year career at the Department of Justice. She wasn’t retiring. She was retreating to regroup, to protect the soul of public service.

She served under seven Attorneys General. She founded the DOJ Gender Equality Network. She worked for justice from the inside—until it became ethically impossible. Then she did what few dare: she walked away, with her truth intact.

Now she leads Justice Connection: a lifeline for civil servants caught in the crosshairs of political retaliation.

What Justice Connection Offers:

• 🧭 Legal support for whistleblowers

• 🛟 Mental health resources for traumatized workers

• 🔒 Protection from doxxing and harassment

• 🔄 Job transition assistance

• 🗣️ Advocacy in the press, Congress, and public square

When courage is punished and silence is rewarded,
we don’t just lose jobs.
We lose truth.

Justice Connection is grief work.
It’s repair work.
It’s a raft for those tossed overboard.

👏 How to Support:

• 🌐 Visit thejusticeconnection.org

• 💸 Donate to legal + mental health funds

• 📣 Share her story

• 🧡 Remind public servants: you are not alone

💔 Grief 101: Broken Heart Syndrome

When Grief Hurts the Body

We say it all the time:
“She died of a broken heart.”
“He was never the same.”
But what if that wasn’t just metaphor?

It’s real. It has a name.
Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy, or “Broken Heart Syndrome.”

It mimics a heart attack: chest pain, shortness of breath, ECG changes.
But unlike a heart attack, arteries aren’t blocked—the heart is stunned.

Triggers Include:

• Death of a loved one

• Betrayal or sudden heartbreak

• Devastating news

• Even joyful shock (“Happy Heart Syndrome”)

It’s the body’s reaction to a flood of stress hormones—like adrenaline and cortisol—that literally reshape the heart.

And yes—it can be fatal.

🧠 Especially for Parents

A 2012 Danish study found that parents who lose a child are 21% more likely to die in the next decade, often of heart-related causes. The risk is highest in the first two years.

🌱 So How Do We Heal?

There’s no pill for grief.
But there is care.

• 🏥 Hospital monitoring + rest

• 💊 Meds to reduce cardiac stress

• 🧘‍♀️ Grief therapy + trauma-informed support

• 🤝 Connection and presence

At CGC, we offer virtual grief therapy nationwide, including:

• 1:1 sessions

• Group support

• Psychodrama-inspired events

• Mindfulness-based tools

🕯️ June HOPE Group (Virtual)

Mindfulness, Fear in Dying, and the Sadness of Silence

🗓️ Saturday, June 28
⏰ 10–11:30 AM PT | 1–2:30 PM ET
💻 Donation-Based | All Are Welcome
👥 Facilitated by Brian Stefan, LCSW & Mariela Bravo

A mindfulness circle for anyone holding silent sorrow.
Or needing community during transition.

🎭 July Catharsis Theater

Grief, Heartbreak & the Role You Were Never Meant to Carry Alone

🗓️ Sunday, July 6
⏰ 1:00–4:30 PM PT
📍 The Blue Door Theater, Downtown Culver City
🎟️ Open to the Public | Limited to ~40 Attendees

This is not therapy.
This is not performance.
This is something older than both: grief as ritual theater.

Using the tools of psychodrama, embodiment, and story, two participants (chosen by the group) step into a moment of personal heartbreak—while others witness and reflect.

💔 Why It Matters

Science now recognizes Broken Heart Syndrome as a medical reality.
The solution?
Care. Community. Catharsis.

✨ What You’ll Experience:

• Group exercises in story, spontaneity, and connection

• A chance to witness—or be witnessed

• Trauma-informed space

• A reminder: you don’t have to hold it alone

✅ Accessibility + Ethics

• Not therapy or diagnosis

• Protagonists selected by consensus

• Emotional support available onsite

• Sliding Scale Pricing (Green Bottle Model)

☎️ Political Grief & Loss: Bilingual Counselors Might Be Next

First they came for DEI.
Then for trans youth.
Now? For LGBTQ+ crisis counselors on the 988 Lifeline.

On July 17, the Trump administration will slash funding for specialized support—eliminating The Trevor Project’s 988 partnership and halving its reach.

Framed as “unity,” but make no mistake: this is state-sanctioned erasure.

And next?

Likely bilingual and culturally competent care.

Services for immigrants, refugees, and non-English speakers—often federally funded—are politically vulnerable.

🧠 Language saves lives. So does identity-affirming care.

If we don’t act now, silence will become policy.

✉️ An Open Letter to LGBTQ+ Youth
We will not stop fighting for you.

🌊 What We Offer at the California Grief Center

Grief is not a problem to solve.
It’s a truth to honor.

Here’s how we support you:

• 💬 Individual Therapy (Virtual, Nationwide)

• 👥 Grief Groups (Online + In-Person)

• 🎭 Catharsis Theater (Somatic + Story-Based Healing)

Explore more at www.caligrief.com
✨ Free consultations available.

With heart,
Brian Stefan, LCSW
Founder, California Grief Center
🕊️ Facing the hurt—together.

P.S.
Know someone carrying quiet grief?
Forward this their way.
The circle is open.
Everyone belongs.