Ronnie’s House hosts 5k to bring awareness to ‘Child Grief Awareness Month’

November is Child Grief Awareness Month, and on Sunday Ronnie’s House for Hope hosted its annual ‘Mile in their Shoes 5K.'

Jennifer loza, president, ronnie’s house 

"People think children are very resilient and they'll just get through it," said Ronnie's House President and Founder, Jennifer Loza. "But a lot of us need support. It saved my life after losing my husband and after losing my son."

Ronnie's House for Hope offers grief support groups and resources for adults and children. 

Sunday morning’s 5K was hosted to help raise awareness for children that have lost a loved one. 

"We see these kids come in, very kind of shrunk down and not sure what they want to share, to really flowering and embracing their grief and learning to control it rather than it controlling them," said Loza.

 Narcan training was also provided during the event as part of Loza’s 'Forever 18' program.

"We started a program after I lost my 18-year-old son Steven, called 'Forever 18 Fentanyl Awareness' and I travel around riverside county," said Loza.

 Loza’s son says his mother has been able to build a strong community through her advocacy — 

"She works with all of Riverside County, all the schools in Riverside County. It's free services so any school that wants fentanyl presentations. It's really helpful and it doesn't cost the school anything," said Loza.

he believes her work is life saving and he’s proud she’s been able to channel her grief into something positive. 

"Always reach out and if you're dealing with anything fentanyl related for sure. Anything in the family or a loss in the family due to fentanyl also a great support system," said Loza.

Ronnie’s House for Hope is planning on opening a new center at the end of the month and will continue to offer a variety of support groups. 

You can find more information HERE.