LaPorche Kimber (center), founder of Butterfly’s Sacred Journey, releases a butterfly at the Grinding & Grieving Bootcamp on Saturday, Sept. 27 at The Missing Peace Community Collective, 3248 W. Brown St. (Photo by Meredith Melland)
By Meredith Melland
This story was originally published by Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service, where you can find other stories reporting on fifteen city neighborhoods in Milwaukee. Visit milwaukeenns.org.
Several groups in Milwaukee saw a need in the community for a space to grieve and receive healing services. So, they created it.
LaPorche Kimber, founder of Butterfly’s Sacred Journey, and Kewannee Allen, founder and CEO of the Amareon Allen Foundation, are organizers of the Grinding & Grieving Bootcamp.
The bootcamp was held with and at The Missing Peace Community Collective, 3248 W. Brown St., on Sept. 27.
“I just hope that we’re able to help someone get through the grief process, because it is a journey,” Allen said.
Her son, Amareon Allen, was shot and killed in 2021.
Monette Harmon, a funeral director apprentice and certified death doula with Neka’s Funeral & Cremation Services, speaks during a mock funeral held as part of the Grinding & Grieving Bootcamp. (Photo by Meredith Melland)
Processing loss and moving forward
Gathered outside on a warm morning in late September, bootcamp participants received small envelopes and carefully opened them.
Butterflies emerged.
Each butterfly moved at its own pace, some eagerly taking off while others clung to the envelopes, grass, clothing or hands of the people releasing them.
The activity symbolizes the act of releasing lost loved ones but also overcoming challenges, according to Kimber.
When Kimber lost her son, Maurice Grimes Jr., to gun violence in 2019 and went through a divorce, she said she felt angry and like she had nothing to live for.
“I found healing in spaces where I could connect with people that experienced some of the grief that I did,” Kimber said.
Rochell Wallace, one of the event’s speakers, colors a jack-o’-lantern drawing as part of the art therapy activities at the Grinding & Grieving Bootcamp. (Photo by Meredith Melland)
Trying to stay strong
The bootcamp combines the sharing of personal experiences with speeches and resources about mourning and financial planning.
“I’m here to turn my tragedy into triumph and to be around other people that’s going through something,” Kamid Everett said.
Everett’s 14-year-old son, Bryant Triplett, was shot and killed in December 2024 at North 21st Street and West Concordia Avenue, while she was already recovering from her mother’s death from lung cancer.
She said she tries to stay strong for her family, but things like the back-to-school season and trying Bryant’s favorite food, sushi, remind her of him.
“He didn’t get a chance to leave his mark on the world,” she said.
Monette Harmon, a certified death doula, speaks to attendees about her own experiences with grief at the Grinding & Grieving Bootcamp on Saturday, Sept. 27 at The Missing Peace Community Collective, 3248 W. Brown St. (Photo by Meredith Melland)
Techniques and tools for navigating grief
During the bootcamp, participants used art therapy techniques to express their emotions, including coloring a mask to reflect how the outside world sees them versus how they actually felt inside.
Some of the speakers created affirmations or “I” statements to comfort and empower the audience.
Monette Harmon, a funeral director apprentice and certified death doula with Neka’s Funeral & Cremation Services, led a mock funeral in front of a casket adorned with flowers, candles and photos.
She reminded attendees they had the right to grieve, to rest and practice self-care and to not lie about their feelings.
“People can’t help you if you can’t be honest,” she said.
Daniel Harris, a gospel and rap artist, wrote a book about grief and asked participants to record audio on their phones as they repeated messages like “I am a storm survivor” after him.
“There’s going to be times when you’re going to need words of encouragement when no one is around,” he said.
Everett said Harris’ message of surviving the storms of grief resonated with her.
“His whole message was just everything to me because you got to keep going, and then people don’t know what you’ve been through because we always try to hide what we’ve been through,” Everett said.
To learn more
The organizations plan to continue to provide grief services and offer their own events.
Babett Reed, executive director of The Missing Peace Community Collective, said she hopes to open a rage room in the space. She thinks the community needs more events like the bootcamp.
“Every month, we need to have a place where we can go and be healed and be able to talk to someone,” Reed said.
Butterfly’s Sacred Journey offers resources and events using art therapy, books and journals to support grieving children.
The Amareon Allen Foundation’s Next Chapter Resource Hub & Healing Circle meets from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. every fourth Saturday of the month at rotating locations. It also hosts Thanksgiving and Christmas givebacks for families impacted by gun violence.
Here’s a list of resources to help interrupt violence:
Violence interruption resources
Project Ujima
Phone: 414-266-2557
What it does: Project Ujima is a voluntary program with Children’s Wisconsin that offers free counseling, case management and violence prevention services to youths and families affected by or at risk of violence.
414LIFE
Phone: 414-439-5525 or 414lifemke@mcw.edu
What it does: 414LIFE is a community violence interruption team formed with the City of Milwaukee’s Office of Community Wellness and Safety and implemented by the Medical College of Wisconsin’s Comprehensive Injury Center. Team members de-escalate and mediate conflicts, work with gun violence survivors at hospitals and provide education resources with the goal of reducing gun violence and retaliation.
Credible Messenger Program
Phone: 414-335-1524
What it does: Credible Messengers is a mentoring program designed to help youths avoid or reduce involvement in the justice system. Milwaukee Community Crossroads (formerly Milwaukee Christian Center), 414LIFE, Running Rebels, Westcare Wisconsin, Youth Advocate Program and Glow 414 are participating organizations – learn more about their approaches here.
Office of Community Wellness and Safety
Phone: 414-286-5468
What it does: The City of Milwaukee office supports various violence prevention initiatives in Milwaukee by partnering with agencies, experts and street outreach teams.
Trauma Response Team
Phone: 414-257-7650
What it does: The Trauma Response Team provides free support to children ages 6-17 in the Milwaukee area who have been exposed to trauma, violence or stressful experiences. It’s a partnership between the City of Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Police Department and Wraparound Milwaukee. You can also contact TraumaResponseTeam@MilwaukeeCountyWI.gov or find more information in Spanish here.
Safe and Sound
Phone: 414-220-4780
What it does: Safe and Sound’s mission is to “unite residents, youth, law enforcement and community resources to build safe and empowered neighborhoods.” Neighborhood safety coordinators work with community members in each police district, and the nonprofit also offers youth leadership development.
Legal resources
Centro Legal
Phone: 414-384-7900
What it does: Centro Legal provides low-cost legal services and assistance navigating the legal system in family law and misdemeanor criminal court cases.
Wisconsin Department of Justice Victim Resource Center
Phone: 608-264-9497
What it does: The Victim Resource Center can assist victims or witnesses of crime with information, referrals and questions regarding their rights. It cannot provide legal advice or handle family court cases.
State Bar of Wisconsin Lawyer Referral Service
Phone: 800-362-9082
What it does: Through the Lawyer Referral Service, a trained legal assistant can assess your legal situation and connect you with the most appropriate resource. Call from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday or use the online referral service.
Victim Witness Services
Phone: 414-278-4667
What it does: Crime victims and witnesses can get assistance from the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office Victim Witness Services Division to access services and exercise their rights in the criminal court process.
Other resources
Wraparound Milwaukee
Phone: 414-257-7607
What it does: Wraparound Milwaukee – Children’s Community Mental Health Services offers an array of behavioral health programming and resources referrals for youths between the ages of 5 and 23.
Behavioral Health Services
Phone: 414-257-7222 (24-hour crisis line)
What it does: The Milwaukee County Department of Health and Human Services can help youths and adults experiencing a mental health crisis or needing behavioral health resources. Call 414-257-8085 for non-emergency adult behavioral health needs.
Sojourner Family Peace Center
Phone: 414-276-1911
What it does: Sojourner provides a range of support services to families affected by domestic violence to help them achieve safety, justice and well-being. It operates a 24-hour domestic violence hotline at 414-933-2722.
Meredith Melland is the neighborhoods reporter for the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and a corps member of Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities.