SARASOTA, Fla. — A shocking loss turns into an opportunity to help others through grief. Two teens now volunteer to help other young people cope with the death of a loved one.
In September 2018, 15-year-old Matthew Powers was on his way to homecoming at Lakewood Ranch High School when he was killed in a crash on State Road 64. He left behind an 11-year-old sister and 13-year-old brother who suddenly had to face life without him.
Katie Powers remembers her big brother Matthew as protective.
"The first time I went on a certain roller coaster I was really nervous so he sat next to me and he like held me on the roller coaster and helped me to feel better."
Robert laughs when he talks about being grounded once, and Matthew did what brothers do.
"Matthew came to my room and he broke me out of my room, out of me being grounded and he snuck me into his room."
When Matthew was killed in a car accident, it was tough on Robert and Katie. Robert explained how he felt.
"It was a lot of shock, sadness, kind of anger too. Then it's like 'why did this happen to me?' 'I can't believe this happened to me kind of thing.'"
The Blue Butterfly Family Grief Center had just opened in Sarasota, and the Powers family were some of the first to sign up.
Danielle Wondrak is the program manager.
"Our program is unique," she said. "We serve kids as young as 4 years old all the way up to age 18. So as long as someone has died in their life; it doesn't even have to be a family member. It can be a classmate, it can be a teacher at their school, it can be a cousin and they're welcome to come here for free grief counseling."
For Katie and Robert, it was a place to start healing.
"After coming to Blue Butterfly and talking to people who were experiencing the same thing, I realized it's a good thing to share about him, because it helps his story live on," Katie said.
Robert agrees. "Going to Blue Butterfly kind of like made me realize that it's like I'm not the only person kind of feeling those feelings."
Robert is starting his first year at the University of Alabama and Katie is now a senior at Lakewood Ranch High School.
They have both volunteered for Blue Butterfly.
"I decided that this organization could use all the help it could get," Katie said. "So by me volunteering, I want to continue the awesome work that they do and help more people and more kids especially navigate through their grief journey."
Wondrak says that's the beauty of Blue Butterfly. "We call it the butterfly effect. You come here to learn about your grief and work on your grief and then you go out into the world and help others with theirs."