WILMINGTON, N.C. — School counselors have seen kids go through a range of challenges in the past year with everything that the pandemic has presented, but grief can be one of the hardest burdens to bear.

Katie Akinli is a counselor at College Park Elementary School in Wilmington who has a particular heart to help those who are mourning a loss.

“COVID's hard enough and then you put the grief process on top of it, it makes it so much harder,” Akinli says. “It always feels good when we can give back and when I was younger, my counselor helped me through my grief process so I want to be that one person that can help somebody too.”

With money she received from an unexpected grant, she has put together what she calls "grief-to-go bags," which are emotional support kits full of activities, books, and comforting toys for students. She also puts helpful resources in the bag for parents who may be struggling with how to process grief themselves on top of handling their child's grief too. 

“It might start with a big huge trash bag full of grief, but then eventually, they have to learn to get it down to a book bag size, and then get it down to a purse size,” Akinli says. “We always carry around our losses, but we have the tools to be able to move forward and not let it define us.”

She has enough supplies for 36 bags, but she genuinely hopes she never has to give them all away. Before having this resource, she would offer grief groups for students coping with a loss or even use some of her own money to get them a stuffed animal. She says the bags are filling a void she never imagined being able to reach.

“I always reach out to the parents first or guardians to make sure it's appropriate, and then I bring the kids into the office, give them a little bag, and they actually have a big smile on their face,” Akinli says.

Her hope is that this will be a long-lasting legacy, even when all the grant money is gone, and that other schools may follow suit in providing similar services.