Ricks Place

At Ricks Place we provide compassionate grief support to youth and their families through facilitated peer activities, school-based programs and community outreach. Our goal is to provide a trusting environment in which participants who are grieving the death of a loved one can share their experiences, receive support and find comfort. Ricks Place was founded as a new initiative of the Rick Thorpe Memorial Fund in 2007. Inspired by the desire to honor the memory of Rick Thorpe, a young father and Wilbraham, Massachusetts native who died in the World Trade Center attacks on 9/11, the Ricks Place site was opened in March of 2007. Ricks Place supports children, teens (5-18 yrs.) and their families after a loved one has died. Through facilitated peer support groups, Ricks Place offers grieving children and their caregivers a safe place to remember their loved ones, honor their memories, and avoid the sense of isolation that such a loss can produce. At Ricks Place, we know that grief i...