The Trauma and Grief Center at The Hackett Center for Mental Health [1]
The Trauma and Grief (TAG) Center was established to raise the standard of care for bereaved youth and families through the dissemination of trauma- and bereavement-informed, developmentally attuned, and culturally appropriate best practices. The TAG Center coordinates and conducts trainings focused on bereavement-informed risk screening and assessment. Additionally, the TAG Center organizes and convenes Learning Collaboratives dedicated to implementing and evaluating bereavement-informed interventions for grieving youth in a variety of contexts (e.g., grief support centers, hospice and/or palliative care settings, schools, academic medical centers). Through the TAG Center's collaboration with NCTSN sites and other national organizations, a primary goal is to raise public awareness regarding childhood bereavement, age-related manifestations of adaptive versus maladaptive forms of grief, the interplay of PTSD and grief, and bereavement-informed best practices. Special attention is given to disseminating these practices in high-risk populations, including military families and underserved minority youth, as well as in the aftermath of natural disasters (e.g., Hurricane Harvey) mass shootings (Santa Fe school shooting), and public health crises (COVID-19 pandemic). With Houston as our hub, we continue to build upon ongoing dissemination efforts across a highly diverse network of cities, each with high prevalence rates of youth bereavement. Primary partnering organizations include those located in Houston and San Antonio, TX; Detroit and Southfield, MI; Atlanta, GA; New Orleans and Baton Rouge, LA; Durham, NC; and St. Louis, MO.