Construction on the new home of nonprofit Judi’s House for Grieving Families and Children, is currently underway in Aurora. According to PCL Construction, the general contractor for the project, the building’s shell is largely complete. The new 26,470-square-foot facility located a t 10125 E. 25th Ave., just a few blocks east of the Stanley Marketplace, is scheduled to open August, 2022 and will provide a safe, welcoming place for children and their families to receive grief support services.
To share the building’s progress, the nonprofit’s founders, Former NFL quarterback Brian Griese and his wife Brook Griese, PhD, led tours earlier this month for donors (including former Denver Broncos Coach Mike Shanahan). Brian was just 12 years old when his mother, Judi, died from breast cancer. Brian and Brook, a clinical child psychologist specializing in trauma and loss, founded Judi’s House in her memory in 2002.
The $16.8 million facility will provide space for Judi’s House operations and programming and will also house the JAG Institute, the nationally recognized education and research arm of Judi’s House. The building will include on-site parking; play, art and group therapy rooms; community education and workforce training space; a backyard garden for outdoor therapy and gatherings.
Davis Partnership Architects designed the building.
“A new home for Judi’s House will allow us to improve access to services and ensure the sustainable impact of the organization for years to come,” said Jessica Maitland Mayo, chief executive officer of Judi’s House/JAG Institute. “The limitations of our current homes coupled with growing demand for programming prompted us to pursue a new location that can comfortably serve all our constituents and bring our team together under one roof.”
Eighty-nine thousand Colorado children — 1 in 14 — will experience the death of a parent or sibling by the age of 18. Judi’s House is the only research-based organization in metro Denver devoted solely to supporting grieving children and their families. The new purpose-built home will allow Judi’s House to overcome current physical limitations, expand its ability to help grieving families and engage local, regional and national audiences in education and training opportunities to create more grief-sensitive communities.
The mission of Judi’s House is to help children and families grieving a death find connection and healing, while JAG Institute helps further this mission through comprehensive research and training initiatives. Judi’s House has supported more than 12,000 youth, ages 3-25, and caregivers, toward its vision that no child should be alone in grief.