DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Father’s Day can be a hard time for families who are mourning their fathers.
A DeKalb County nonprofit is helping loved ones find a way to honor the fathers they’ve lost.
At just 17, Donta Willis has experienced a lifetime of loss.
“They told me, ‘Your dad passed away.’ When I heard that, everything went blank,” Willis said.
In the months after his death, his grandfather, then his stepfather, also passed away. The grief was unbearable.
“It was very hard to find something to cope with and do, so I wouldn’t feel bad,” he said.
“Having to tell him the last death and his statement was, ‘Mommy, what is wrong with me. Why does God keep taking all the men that I love?” his mother, Valerie Page-Pendleton said. “That was the hardest thing. I have no answer for that.”
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Donta and his brothers aren’t alone.
“Most don’t realize that one in ten in Georgia, and that amounts to about 100,000 here in metro Atlanta, are grieving,” Lisa Aman with Kate’s Club said. “About 60 percent of our kids, a majority at Kate’s Club, have lost their dad.”
Kate’s Club is an organization that supports kids, teens, young adults, and families facing life after the death of a loved one. It’s a place where Donta found healing.
“I had people I could connect with because they also lost loved ones as well,” he said.
This Father’s Day, Kate’s Club held their healing, understanding, and giving support event, or HUGS.
“We bring about 30 families, 100 kids together here at our clubhouse,” Aman said.
It’s a chance for the healing to continue through a celebration of their fathers.
“It was a somber moment, a somber time. But now they’re able to pretty much express the way that they’re feeling and say what are we going to do to honor dad,” Page-Pendleton said.
“I just make it a day where I just celebrate them. I just remember them,” Willis said.
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