Charity
A Community for Healing
EricsHouse Helps Those Touched by Suicide and Substance-related Losses By Jeremiah Sosa Photo Courtesy of EricsHouse
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osing a child can be an unbearable pain for any parent to go through. For Marianne Gouveia, losing her son Eric James to suicide six years ago was no different. Amid her grief, Gouveia tried to look for a support system outside of her counselor that could help her get through the loss, however, she wasn’t able to find one. That is why in 2017 she decided to create EricsHouse, a local nonprofit organization that offers in-person and virtual services for people who have lost someone to alcohol, drugs, suicide, or any other form of self-harm. “For me it was necessary to find a way to turn my loss into good for others,” Gouveia says. “So now, instead of looking at my loss as a terrible, horrible thing—which of course it was and still is—I found a way to grow from my struggle. I found a way to help others and to integrate my loss into my life in a healthy way.” “Losing someone in this traumatic way comes with stigma, shame, and a different type of grief—it doesn’t just go away over time,” explains Patty Kincaid, ACC, Board Vice-Chairman at EricsHouse. “Our nonprofit
offers grief support groups and one-on-one grief companioning along with holistic services that help heal the whole person.” The EricsHouse team are all loss survivors themselves and can support clients without the judgement that often comes with these losses. Grief Companions receive over 150 hours of grief education taught by Dr. Alan Wolfelt, one of the world’s foremost grief experts. Kincaid shares that grieving parents are invited to join the Emmaus In-Person Retreat happening May 27-29. This workshop is for anyone who has lost a child, regardless of the reason or the length of time. Registration is required via the EricsHouse website. EricsHouse has multiple facets of their organization that allow not only locals to get involved, but those around the country as well. They offer virtual women and men’s support groups, as well as integrative grief care, which includes grief companioning, spiritual direction, health coaching, and reiki. With the numerous forms of healing that they offer, EricsHouse has received praise from many people that they’ve helped over the years.
“We get all kinds of wonderful feedback, and the reason for that is because we have an integrative model,” Gouveia says. “It’s not just counseling. We do breath work, energy work, and we teach grief education so people understand what it is what they’re feeling. We really give them a vocabulary to understand what they’re feeling so that they have a language when they are deep in their grief.” To learn more about EricsHouse, their multiple services, and volunteer or donation opportunities, visit ericshouse.org.
Arizona Gives Day 2022 A Success Thanks to Community Generosity
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hile complete numbers weren’t available as of press time, preliminary estimates indicate that Arizona Gives Day 2022 is on pace for another highly successful 24-hour fundraising campaign.
During this year’s 24-hour online fundraiser, which took place April 5-6, 27,741 individuals donated $4.22 million to 955 Arizona nonprofits through the Arizona Gives website (AZGives.org). Also, 868 volunteers
24 • May 2022 • THE SCOTTSDALE STANDARD
pledged 36,269 hours to help their favorite nonprofits impact their communities. It is estimated that, once tallied, the official number will be over $5 million.
from rising inflation and higher costs for everything. We know our Arizona nonprofits are also experiencing rising costs to provide key services to fellow Arizonans.”
“We are constantly overwhelmed by the deep generosity of Arizonans throughout the state in both financial terms and through their selfless willingness to volunteer their time for nonprofit programs, services and outreach,” says Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits CEO Kristen Merrifield. The Alliance manages Arizona Gives Day in collaboration with Arizona Grantmakers Forum. FirstBank, one of the nation’s largest privately held banks with a focus on “banking for good,” is the presenting sponsor. “We are deeply grateful that donors in Arizona recognized the call to action to assist all the very deserving nonprofits in very uncertain times and considering the additional challenges that people face
Since the first Arizona Gives Day in 2013, more than $34 million (and counting) has been raised for Arizona nonprofits. “Each year Arizona Gives Day brings this community together to support hundreds of deserving causes, and once again it delivered,” says Joel Johnson, FirstBank East Valley market president. “All of the nonprofits that received donations will be able to continue their respective missions thanks to everyone that donated. But an organization’s job isn’t done in one day, neither is ours. Let’s continue to bolster local nonprofits, whether that be financially or with time, and we’ll ensure Arizona remains an amazing place to live.” myhyperlocalnews.com
