Gerard's House

10/07/2026

Join us for UNBLOCKED! 🎉

Come celebrate the Siler Rufina District at this free community block party on Saturday, October 10th, from 1–5 PM!

Discover local businesses, connect with community organizations, and enjoy an afternoon of fun for the whole family. 💛

We’ll have a table there with information about Gerard’s House and our grief support programs, plus a sweet grief activity for you to participate in!
Siler Rufina District

10/05/2026

What is Ambiguous Loss?

Ambiguous loss can happen when someone we love is physically absent but still an important part of our lives or when someone is physically present but feels emotionally or mentally absent.

It can happen with:
• Separation from a loved one
• Deportation or immigration related separation
• Incarceration or detention
• A loved one who is missing
• Changes in a relationship or family

These losses can be especially difficult because there may be no goodbye, no closure, and no clear answer about what comes next.

Some may feel sadness, worry, anger, hope, guilt, confusion or sometimes all of it at the same time. ❤️‍🩹

What can help?
• Name what you’re grieving (acknowledgment and validation)
• Give yourself permission to feel mixed emotions
• Stay connected to supportive people
• Create meaningful ways to honor the relationship
• Focus on what is within your control
• Seek support when the grief feels heavy

Gerard's House offers free grief support groups in Spanish for some of these ambiguous losses. For more information, call us at 505-424-1800.

10/02/2026

Do you have a future engineer or botanist at home? Register them for this conference on Oct. 17th with our friends at STEM Santa Fe!

Curious 5th - 8th grader at home? Register your 5th - 8th grader for the STEM Pathways Conference and give them a front row seat to how computers actually work: tinyurl.com/Fall2026STEMConference
In this workshop, students will explore the basics of computer programming, create musical art with code, and even run real robots. Tech meets creativity — hands-on!

Led by Teri Roberts, a self-styled "techno-wizard" and Senior Member of the Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE).

Free to families, with an optional registration fee of $40 to help cover a portion of the cost.

09/29/2026

👟💛 A BIG shoutout to the Rotary Club of Santa Fe Centro and their member, Marcel Legendre, for supporting our grieving families!

Thanks to their generous donation of vouchers, many children were able to pick out a brand new pair of shoes at Shoe Dept. Encore just in time for the fall season!

For families navigating grief and loss, this kind of support can make a meaningful difference. We are so grateful for your generosity, kindness, and commitment to supporting children and families in our community.

Thank you for helping our grieving children step into fall with a little extra care and joy! 💛

09/29/2026

Our peer-based grief groups can help children and families feel less alone before grief becomes more isolating or overwhelming.

Being around others who have experienced loss can ease loneliness, build connection, and give kids a safe place to share, learn, and cope together. Peer support can help strengthen emotional and social well-being and may help keep grief from becoming more overwhelming over time.

Support doesn’t have to wait until grief becomes a crisis. Sometimes, connection is part of prevention.

Created by Gerard’s House, a grief support center offering free grief services for children, teens, and adults in Santa Fe, NM. For more information, contact us at (505) 424-1800 or visit gerardshouse.org.

09/28/2026

Anticipatory grief is the sadness, fear, uncertainty, and many other emotions we may experience before a loss happens.

It can show up when someone we love is facing a serious illness, or when we’re living with the fear that we may be separated from someone we love.

There is no “right” way to feel. Anticipatory grief can come in waves and may look different from day to day.

What can help?
Take a look at the ideas below for gentle ways to care for yourself. ❤️‍🩹

09/22/2026

Gerard's House Volunteer Spotlight!

Today, we’re celebrating Ruth Delay, who has been sharing her time, heart, and talents with Gerard’s House for 24 years!

We are so grateful for the care and commitment Ruth brings to our community and the grieving children, teens, and families we serve. Volunteers like Ruth make the work we do possible.

"I am moved by being able to show up for the kids where they are in their grief, allowing them to be seen and heard. I am moved by being able to witness the moment they share something profound, or the moment they choose to pass, knowing they share only what they want to share. My heart is full and my life is changed knowing that I am there for them." ~Ruth

Thank you, Ruth, for being such a big part of the Gerard’s House family!

P.s. This picture was taken in 2004 just two tiny years after she started volunteering!

09/21/2026

Have you ever thought about grief support as a form of preventive mental health care?

Although kids get involved in our groups AFTER the death of - or separation from someone they love...we see that when kids of all ages don’t have space to grieve, their pain can show up in other ways: anxiety, depression, withdrawing or lashing out at friends or family, big struggles at school, using drugs or alcohol to numb, or trouble trusting and connecting with others.

Prevention doesn’t mean preventing grief.

Instead grief support groups give children and caregivers a chance to name what hurts, stay connected, and develop healthy ways of coping before the pain of grief becomes a pattern or a crisis.

09/10/2026

Join our partners at the Santa Fe Faith Coalition and Indivisible Santa Fe for this fun event in support of families in our community! ❤️

09/08/2026

We can’t recommend this play enough!

On Sunday a few of our staff and grief group leaders got to be part of a talkback about grief and the powerful acting, which highlights the importance of sharing stories of loss.

The Guys memorializes the personal and collective losses experienced in New York City 25 years ago on 9/11.

It’s playing through September 13...don’t miss your chance to see it!

Performance #3 tonight - matinee and talkback with Gerard's House tomorrow!

Ironweed Productions presents "The Guys" by Anne Nelson, through September 13th. All proceeds from this production will be donated to Gerard's House (gerardshouse.org), a local non-profit grief support center for children, adults, and families.

**Please note that performances will be at Teatro Paraguas (3205 Calle Marie).

You can reserve your tickets at this link (https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/teatro-paraguas-nm/the-guys), or call the Teatro Paraguas box office at (505) 424-1601.

Performances are Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 2:00pm. Tickets are a $20 suggested donation.

"The Guys" is directed by New Mexico Actors Lab Artistic Director Emily Rankin and features Karen Leigh and Scott Harrison. Lighting Design by Monique Lacoste and Sound Design by Larry Ryan. And Stage Manager Lucy Felt is also being mentored in Directing.

Based on her experience in the days following 9/11, Anne Nelson’s play, "The Guys", is a poignant story of the power of human compassion, connection, and empathy. When a chance meeting occurs between a journalist and a New York City firefighter, each feeling lost in the aftermath of the attacks, together they discover the unique gifts they each have to offer in the wake of the tragedy. Filled with moments of warmth and humanity, as well as touching humor, "The Guys" is an uplifting, life-affirming journey and a reminder that "we have no idea what wonders lie hidden in the people around us."

This production is sponsored by Danny Cameron.

"The Guys" is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Dramatists Play Service (www.concordtheatricals.com).

Pictured: Karen Leigh as Joan (Photo by Carrie McCarthy)