Our mission is to renew hope, foster healing, and develop resilience in the hearts of children and their families grieving the death of a loved one.

Finding Hope in the Journey

We are a non-profit organization dedicated to providing free peer grief support groups to children, adolescents, and their parents or adult caregivers who have experienced a death.

Our Mission

Our mission is to renew hope, foster healing, and develop resilience in the hearts of children and their families grieving the death of a loved one.

Our Vision

Our vision is to keep lives whole for every child and family who experiences the death of a loved one.

Our Values

Compassion
Respect
Empathy
Welcoming

Get to Know Us

A quick overview of our mission and how we support our community.

Journey participants share their experience and how our programs helped them navigate their grief journeys.

“Journey of Hope is an oasis in the midst of a chaotic world. It’s a place…perhaps the place in this part of our area where we can guarantee that an individual, a child, and a family can come and receive appropriate support for the work of mourning that they must do in order to heal.” -Mark Hundley, One of Journey of Hope's Founders

Discover our Story

In late 1996, searching for a way to help children deal with death, Hila Pepmiller and Judy Sims, school counselors in the Plano Independent School District (Plano ISD), attended a presentation by the WARM Place in Fort Worth. What they saw convinced them that a facility was needed to serve families in the Dallas and Collin county area.

Journey Family Stories

Before Journey of Hope, I thought I was the only widow in the world under the age of 35...

At Journey of Hope, I learned I was not alone. Words cannot express what a welcomed support they were for me and especially for my kids. They were 10, 4, and 1 when their dad died. Some days I struggled just to get through the day. But I always had Tuesday nights at Journey of Hope to look forward to.”

Our world turned upside down on Sunday when Mike unexpectedly died in his sleep. After 18 years, I was suddenly without him...

“Journey of Hope was there for our family right away. I have found an incomparable level of support with these new friends and it has been cathartic and rewarding to be able to share about my grief journey as new people joined our group throughout the year.”

Important Update about Journey of Hope

After almost 27 years of serving families who are grieving, we have made the difficult decision to close our doors.

As a result of several factors, the board has decided to cease operations effective April 30, 2025.