Free Youth Grief Support & Camp — Waterloo, IA | Cedar Valley Hospice
Cedar Valley Hospice offers a full range of grief support services free of charge to anyone in its northeast Iowa service area — no hospice affiliation required. Its Eucalyptus Tree youth grief program is dedicated to helping children and teens through the death of someone they love, alongside adult support groups and an annual free grief camp that brings grieving kids together for a day of sharing, learning, and remembering.
What to Expect
The Eucalyptus Tree program pairs clear, age-appropriate communication with unconditional support. Services include grief and death education, grief mentoring for ages 5-17 (volunteer mentors meet with children for fun, educational activities related to grief and loss), visits from Katie and Quincy Koala for children ages 3-9, parent consultation, family support sessions, and support to area schools. The organization also runs both drop-in and closed adult support groups, individual grief support in person, by phone, or over Zoom, and a free annual grief camp for youth who have experienced the death of a loved one, complete with activities, lunch, and a parallel discussion group for parents and guardians.
Who This Group Is For
These services are for anyone grieving a death in the Cedar Valley Hospice service area — children, teens, parents, and adults — regardless of whether the person who died was ever on the hospice program. Families navigating a child’s first major loss, caregivers unsure how to talk with kids about death, and schools supporting bereaved students are all welcome to reach out.
Why Peer Support Works
Children grieve differently than adults, and they often need permission, language, and company to do it well. Meeting other kids who have also lost someone normalizes big feelings and reduces isolation, while trained grief counselors and mentors keep activities age-appropriate and safe. Including young people in honest conversations about illness and death builds trust and resilience that serves them for a lifetime.
How to Join
All grief support services are free. Call the Cedar Valley Hospice grief team at (319) 272-2002 or the 24/7 main line at (800) 626-2360 to get connected, or visit the grief support page for the current support group schedule. The central office is located at 900 Tower Park Drive, Waterloo, Iowa, with additional offices in Grundy Center, Waverly, and Independence.