L.Y.G.H.T. Program
Listening and Led by Youth in Foster Care: Grief, Hope, and Transitions (L.Y.G.H.T.)
LYGHT Program - A Dougy Center Program
The L.Y.G.H.T. program provides a safe space for youth in foster care to listen, talk, and offer support to one another as they cope with their grief. This may include missing family, friends, and other important people, as well as other losses in their lives such as the loss of safety, items, personal space, etc.
We offer bi-weekly meetings in our Teen Group and Young Adult Group, and you decide if and when you want to participate. You choose the topics most important to you!
Why join LYGHT?
Teens in foster care choose to join L.Y.G.H.T. because it’s a safe space where youth can feel supported by their peers as they navigate the foster care system, including the losses, successes, and other experiences that are important to them. Our Teen program is
Your life and your experiences matter because YOU matter!
To join either of our programs, Teen or Young Adult, contact Adrian Peay at adrian@palmettoplace.org
Meeting Information
TEEN PROGRAM
Time: Bi-weekly on Tuesdays from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm
Location: Columbia, SC
YOUNG ADULT PROGRAM
Time: Bi-weekly (Opposite of the Teen Program) on Tuesdays from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm
Location: Columbia, SC
About L.Y.G.H.T.™
Multiple research studies conducted with youth in foster care demonstrate that youth’s experiences of death and non-death losses are under acknowledged in the child welfare system. Based on these findings, the L.Y.G.H.T. program was developed to create a trauma-informed and grief-informed program to support the needs of youth in foster care who are grieving.
L.Y.G.H.T. is a youth-led and youth-driven program facilitated by supportive adults. The program is facilitated by professionals in the child welfare system who have successfully completed the L.Y.G.H.T. Facilitation training and is implemented at organizations in the youth’s local community.
Oversight and guidance of the L.Y.G.H.T. program is provided by Dougy Center program staff and on-site organizational clinical support staff.
L.Y.G.H.T. was developed by Dr. Monique Mitchell, a nationally recognized expert in the field of child welfare, and Dr. Donna Schuurman, a nationally recognized expert in the field of thanatology. L.Y.G.H.T. is an evidence-based intervention and is listed in the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare.