Vote for our 2025 HopeGiver of the year!

​Brandy is the City Connects Coordinator for South Bend Community School Corporation and has been an integral part to the growth throughout Sout Bend.  She states, "I have personally witnessed the growth and healing that occurs when working with Dustin's Place. They create a safe and non judgmental space to allow our youth to heal, remember and honor their loved ones."

As a pediatrician, I’ve been honored to walk with families through some of their most difficult journeys, such as losing a child. I have held a child’s hand after they lose a parent or grandparent.  We are so fortunate to have Dustin’s Place, in Marshall County as a space for hope and healing for grieving children and their families. I feel it is so important to have a place like DP for children and families to share their grief journey together and with others who understand them

The most literal reason I am at Dustin's Place is thanks to Steve Barry.  I was briefly in a church program with Steve while I was having a depressive episode and he knew the weight of grief in my heart.  I am very thankful Steve led me here.  What keeps me actively staying and volunteering at Dustin's Place is that is has given my life purpose.  I've really fallen in love with volunteering, specifically the the tweens.The kids' resilience motivates me to keep going in my own grief journey.  With my personal line of deaths, a difficult young adulthood, and being in the Army in a different country, it eventually broke me.  But my hope is to use my own experience to positively influence this next generation.

God has transformed Viki Cullen Brown’s personal tragedy into a powerful ministry, Dustin’s Place, where families and children find healing, purpose, and community through grief. The dedication and partnership of supporters, staff, local leaders have made this vision a thriving reality that serves the community with compassion and faith. Tonight's Gala celebrates not only the growth of Dustin’s Place but also God’s ability to bring beauty from ashes, creating a ripple effect of hope, love, and renewed life. We are blessed to walk alongside this vision.

Hi!  I am Stacy Scheetz and I am the counselor at Triton Elementary School. There are so many reasons why I love Dustin’s Place, but the main reasons are standing with me in this picture.  These are siblings that lost their father a couple of years ago and got the opportunity to participate in a grief group at the school with Dustin’s Place.   They loved it so much that they also attend groups on Mondays as a family.  

We are very fortunate to have Dustin’s Place come into our school each semester and hold weekly groups for our students who are experiencing grief. Dustin’s Place also helped Triton Elementary out earlier this year when we had a staff member pass away unexpectedly. They were not only there for our students, but our staff as well. 

I am so appreciative of all the work that Dustin’s Place does for our community. They are such an important tool for the families that I work with. 

Thank you Dustin’s Place for everything that you do for those that are struggling with grief and for giving them hope for the future.