DENVER — As Colorado continues to move forward with its vaccination plan to stop the spread of COVID-19, it's too late for thousands of Coloradans.
“Everybody is probably connected with somebody that COVID-19 has touched and that is grieving,” said Langston Jacobs, co-founder of Adam’s Purpose, an organization that helps connect people with support groups, counselors, and other resources to help them through the grieving process.
With more and more people experiencing grief related to the pandemic and other circumstances, Langston and his wife Shai said they wanted to let the community know that Adam’s Purpose is here to help.
About 3 years ago, the couple experienced the loss of Langston's mother, their niece, and their son (who the organization is named after), all within a 6-month time frame.
Langston and Shai said they immediately decided they did not want to run away from the feeling of loss and instead sought help.
But resources were limited.
“Often times when people are leaving a hospital after losing a loved one… there is a list of resources that is sometimes distributed,” Shai said. “But that list is outdated, it may have organizations that are no longer in existence and it broke my heart that it’s on the griever to try to find help. With Adam’s Purpose, our mission, our desire is to be able to provide an ease of access to care.”
Shai and Langston said when they were in the midst of severe grief, they reached out to several different organizations for help but those organizations were not culturally aware.
Even though Adam’s Purpose is open to everyone, the couple said they especially want to get the word out to the African American community.
“With the amount of people who have passed away and the loved ones who have not been able to be by their sides to go through that grieving process or even attend funerals… we felt that Adam's Purpose was just a way for us to extend some help to those in our community,” Langston said.
The organization is hosting a virtual grief conference March 5 and 6 it is free and open to the public.
Shai and Langston Jacobs said their goal is to provide help, hope, and healing to anyone who is grieving.