The WARM Place Expands to Eliminate Wait List for Grieving Families

The WARM Place, a beacon of support for grieving children and families for more than three decades, is expanding its home to eliminate its waitlist of nearly 100 cases. The dedication of the expanded facility took place on Oct. 5, 2023, at 11 a.m., at The WARM Place home located at 809 Lipscomb St.

The WARM Place was the first children’s grief center in Texas when it opened its doors in 1989. Since then, more than 45,000 children and their families have turned to The WARM Place for support following the loss of a parent, sibling, grandparent or other loved one.

“This expansion is a major milestone for The WARM Place,” said Executive Director Shelley Bettis. “It will allow us to serve more families and children who are grieving, and it will also give us the space to provide more comprehensive and specialized services.”

The expansion project added 3,329 square feet of space to The WARM Place, including three new children’s group rooms, an additional adult group room, and a brand-new multi-purpose room. The new space will allow The WARM Place to:

• Increase the number of children and families served by approximately 25% in the first year.

• Provide grief support to English and Spanish-speaking children and families.

• Conduct training sessions through the new multi-purpose room, empowering communities to better support grieving children and families in their own schools and organizations.

“We are so grateful to the community for their support of this expansion,” said Bettis. “This project would not have been possible without their generosity.”

The WARM Place has benefited from the generosity of the community since it was first founded by Peggy Bohme and Dr. John Richardson, a pediatrician at Cook Children’s.

“When I approached Dr. Richardson back in 1984 about creating a place to help children like my daughter, Meghan, I never dreamed we’d impact so many lives,” said Bohme. “I’m so proud to see how far our vision has come and am grateful for all of the incredible people who have worked so hard to make this dream a reality.”

Bohme turned to Dr. Richardson following the loss of her 14-year-old son, Michael, to cancer. Over the next three decades, Dr. Richardson and Bohme worked tirelessly to help other grieving children and families, founding The WARM Place and assisting in the formation of more than 50 similar programs across the U.S. Dr. Richardson died in 2019, but his legacy of helping children lives on through The WARM Place, especially with this expansion.