Our Story
Heartfelt Haywood believes that when we grieve well we become more resilient members of our community. By providing training for grief facilitators, responding to community crises with grief resources and trained, compassionate listeners, Heartfelt Haywood hopes to increase our community’s resilience in the face of grief and devastating loss. We aim to build our community’s capacity for compassion for people who are grieving, dying, and for the individuals and organizations who care for them.
Our Founding
We started as individuals who recognized a need to collaborate across organizational lines to meet a growing community need. Our founding board included a former hospice physician, a local pastor, a state employee who works with seniors, employees of one of the local hospice organizations, and community members who had recently experienced grief and loss. We began to see the need for a community-based approach to end-of-life care that was stronger and more resourceful than any of the organizations we represented. We also see a need for additional programming around grief, caregiving and community-based end-of-life care and are raising awareness about this need even as we offer programs to meet it.
In 2024, we designed a support program for children who have experienced loss of loved ones. Forging a bond with horses, grieving children are given the opportunity to care for and learn about another living creature. In our support group, children meet others who are in similar situations and make friendships with one another. Evidence has shown that interactions with horses help humans connect with their emotions, regulate their emotions, and express themselves. Children experiencing loss embrace this form of support especially because horses provide a non-judgmental space that allows for a whole range of feelings.
Our program takes place at Encore Stables in Candler with experienced equestrians guiding the participants. The program includes learning about horses and their personalities, grooming, building and leading through an obstacle course, and making observations about the horses.
The pilot event was held on March 30, 2024. We had three subsequent camps in 2024 and plan to have four in 2025, starting with our spring camp on Saturday, March 29.
As some have said, “if you have someone to care for, your heart will heal itself.” Our goal is to provide children with horses to care for, a safe place to express themselves, and for their hearts to heal.