Inspired By Healing: One School Nurse’s Mission to Support Grieving Students

When school nurse Heather Tibbett walked into Billy’s Place as a grieving mom, she had no idea she’d end up bringing its impact to hundreds of kids at her own school. But that’s exactly what happened. 

It started with her own loss.

In August 2021, Heather lost her daughter, Ainsley, who was 30 years old. Ainsley was the kind of person who went all in on life. She trekked to Mount Everest Base Camp, a ten-day journey up and back, and traveled the world with a hunger for new places and experiences. When she died, there was a trip still on the calendar: a safari in South Africa that she and Heather had planned to take together. Heather decided to still go. 

In those early days, there were nights she couldn’t even bear turning off the lights. But eventually, she boarded a plane to South Africa to honor Ainsley. That’s how grief happens. It isn’t a straight line.  

Finding Her People

It was a friend of Ainsley’s who pointed Heather toward Billy’s Place. Once she was there, in the adult peer support groups, she found something she hadn’t been able to find anywhere else: people who really understood.

“It was a safe place to be. People who felt that heavy grief – we were all together. You can cry, have that box of tissues, talk about your loved one with no judgment.”

— Heather Tibbett, School Nurse, Happy Valley School

Billy’s Place carried her through those first two years. And the more she healed, the more she paid attention to what Billy’s Place was doing beyond its doors.

Turning Loss Into Action

As the only medical professional at her school, Heather feels a strong sense of responsibility for her students’ well-being. There is no school counselor or psychologist — just her. And she knows better than most what it looks like when kids are carrying something heavy and nobody names it.

“I see firsthand that these kids go through a lot. Sometimes the kids’ feelings aren’t even apparent to their parents,” Heather says.

That’s why, when Billy’s Place School Bereavement Liaison Kaylene Ashbridge told her about how Billy’s Place partners with schools across Arizona every November for Children and Teen Grief Awareness Month (CGAM)—reaching close to 200,000 students—Heather knew she wanted to bring the initiative to Happy Valley.

The campaign falls in November, but Heather didn’t want to wait a whole extra year. So she pulled it together in January. 

She recruited student ambassadors and together they designed a week of activities that would help every student feel supported and empowered to help others. 

Throughout the week, students and staff participated in various activities across campus:

• Students entered a poster contest, with winners receiving #bethere bears that Heather provided for them.
• Student ambassadors hosted presentations and conversations with peers.
• Staff members wore #bethere shirts.
• A special #bethere feature was included in the school yearbook.
• Students were able to skip their uniform at the end of the week in favor of wearing blue, the official color of CGAM.
• A massive #bethere banner was displayed in the cafeteria for several weeks.
• Blue paper hearts filled with supportive messages for grieving friends were posted on classroom doors throughout the school. Some stayed up through the school year.

The impact was noticeable immediately. Friends were showing up for friends. They learned what it was like to #bethere for one another.

Heather believes one of the biggest reasons the campaign resonated with students was because they weren’t just listening to presentations, they were actively creating it together. These activities brought the students together to talk openly with one another about kindness, friendship, and how to show up for someone who is grieving. 

“They were all in,” Heather says.

During the presentations, the student ambassadors asked a room of 5th through 8th graders to raise their hands if they had experienced a loss.  

Unexpectedly, about 80% of the hands went up. Clearly, the room was filled with incredible empathy and connections.

“They started telling their stories,” Heather says. “They felt safe enough in that space to share with their peers.” 

By the end of the week, she even connected a student and their parent to Billy’s Place as they realized they could use the additional support.

The impact on the students

Kaylene was moved by what Heather pulled off. The level of care and intention she brought to the campaign stood out from the start. 

“I look back and am still amazed,” says Kaylene. “Heather had the vision to engage her student leaders, and together they took a peer-based approach to helping classmates understand what it really means to #bethere for one another.”

Heather also introduced Kaylene to her administrative team, Sonia Saenz-Camilli and Principal Jeannine McDonald, to answer any questions and share the resources that would be provided by Billy’s Place. Through those conversations, the team understands that they have Billy’s Place ready to welcome students and families who need additional support. 

A Message to Other School Staff

For anyone who wants to do something like this but isn’t sure they have the bandwidth, Heather has been there and she’s pretty direct about it.

“To someone saying we can’t open this can of worms, we don’t have the resources… Well, we do. We have Billy’s Place. It’s okay to talk about it. It’s okay to cry. Other people feel it too. If one person decides they know of a resource, they want to talk, they go to Billy’s Place, it’s worth it.”

– Heather Tibbett

She’s already planning for next year and working on getting help from the parent group so they can do even more. 

What happened at Happy Valley is exactly what Billy’s Place hopes to create in schools across Arizona: spaces where grieving students feel seen, supported, and safe enough to talk about their experiences.

How Billy’s Place Supports Schools

No child should grieve alone, and that includes the hours they spend at school. Our school bereavement services are built to give everyone in the building, not just counselors, the tools to support grieving students through these programs:

Grief-Informed Schools Training (GIS)

Born out of the Grief-Sensitive Schools Initiative, GIS is a 6-hour comprehensive grief training program delivered by Billy’s Place School Bereavement Liaisons Kaylene Ashbridge and Karina Haholy. Schools receive ongoing support and resources to better understand and address the needs of grieving students.

Beyond the Hall Pass: Creating Safe Spaces for Grieving Students

Beyond the Hall Pass is a monthly virtual training series for everyone in the school building: teachers, cafeteria attendants, bus drivers, administrators. Each one-hour session is packed with practical tips and Q&A so you walk away ready to support grieving students the very next day. Sessions are free, and 1 CE credit hour is offered per training.

Children and Teens Grief Awareness Month #bethere campaign (CGAM)

Every November, Billy’s Place partners with schools across Arizona to participate in the #bethere campaign, raising awareness for children’s grief and showing students how to show up for a grieving friend. We provide activities, t-shirts, posters, and other resources. In 2025, nearly 210,000 people participated across 27 school districts.

Can’t make it in November? Like Heather showed, any month works. For more information, contact karina@billysplace.me.

You Don’t Have to Have All the Answers

Heather didn’t have a grief counseling degree or a perfect plan. She had her own loss, her own healing, and a belief that kids deserve the same kind of support Billy’s Place gave her. That was enough to make a difference for hundreds of students.

That’s where it starts. And Billy’s Place will be right there with you.