Our History
What began with one family's loss became a commitment to helping other families heal.
Journey to Healing was born from a deeply personal experience with grief.
In 2014, the Gregory-Fuquay family experienced the unexpected loss of Cleveland Gregory Jr., who left behind three very young sons. As the family navigated their own grief, they experienced firsthand how one loss can affect nearly every part of life — emotionally, mentally, relationally, and practically.
That experience created a deeper understanding of something that would eventually shape Journey to Healing:
People experiencing grief and trauma often need more than one type of support. They need safe spaces, practical resources, education, connection, and people willing to walk alongside them.
In 2017, Shardaya Fuquay and Misty Gregory founded Journey to Healing to help create that kind of support for other children, individuals, and families.
2017
Where the Journey Began
Journey to Healing began by creating grief support and community outreach opportunities for families throughout Detroit and Metro Detroit.
The organization brought together professionals and community members with backgrounds in social work, psychology, family services, education, business, and other disciplines — many of whom also understood traumatic loss personally.
Early partnerships, including work with the Detroit Public Library, helped Journey to Healing bring grief education and supportive programming directly into the community.
2018–2019
Understanding the Bigger Picture
As Journey to Healing listened to families, one thing became increasingly clear:
Loss rarely happens in isolation.
A death, traumatic event, or major life disruption can also lead to financial hardship, housing instability, family stress, emotional concerns, and other secondary losses.
That understanding helped Journey to Healing expand beyond grief support alone and develop a more trauma-informed, whole-person approach.
During this period, the organization expanded community outreach and grief programming while strengthening its focus on resilience, education, culturally responsive support, and connection to resources.
2020–2022
Expanding Access to Mental Health Support
As the needs of families increased, Journey to Healing continued to grow.
The organization expanded its work to include:
- Clinical mental health services
- Social-emotional learning
- Youth programming
- Grief and trauma support
- Family wellness
- Educational workshops
- Community-based mental health programming
Partnerships with schools, shelters, behavioral health organizations, universities, and community agencies allowed Journey to Healing to reach children and families in the places where they already lived, learned, and received support.
By 2022, Journey to Healing’s reach had expanded beyond Wayne County to include communities throughout Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties.
2023–2026
Bringing Healing Into the Community
Journey to Healing continued strengthening its school-based, shelter-based, clinical, and community partnerships.
Rather than expecting everyone to find their way into a traditional mental health office, the organization intentionally brought programming into schools, shelters, community organizations, and other familiar spaces.
Our work continued to grow in areas such as:
- Trauma-informed counseling
- Youth emotional wellness
- Family support
- Grief services
- School-based programming
- Shelter-based mental health support
- Clinical internships and professional development
- Community education and outreach
This period also strengthened Journey to Healing’s commitment to developing future mental health professionals through internships, supervision, and hands-on community mental health experience.
JOURNEY TO HEALING TODAY
What began as a response to one family’s grief has grown into a nonprofit mental health organization serving children, youth, adults, families, schools, shelters, and communities.
Today, Journey to Healing provides a combination of:
- Evidence-based clinical services
- Youth and school-based programming
- Family and community support
- Grief support
- Wellness programming
- Mental health education and training
- Community partnerships
- Clinical internships and workforce development opportunities
Although our services have expanded, the heart of the organization has remained the same:
Create safe spaces. Listen to what people need. Reduce barriers to support. Help individuals and families build the tools and connections they need to heal.
Our history reminds us why this work started. Our community continues to shape where it goes next.
OUR HISTORY CONTINUES
Journey to Healing continues to evolve as the needs of our communities evolve.
We remain committed to creating accessible, healing-centered services that recognize the connection between mental health, family, community, culture, opportunity, and everyday life.
What started with grief became a larger mission: HEAL. EMPOWER. EDUCATE. SERVE. And we are still on the journey.