Dustin's Place

What Dustin's Place does

Dustin's Place is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2019 and headquartered in Plymouth, Indiana, that provides free grief support services to children, teens, adults, and families who have experienced the death of a loved one. Its service portfolio is organized around three pillars: grief support (age-segmented peer groups, school-based 10-week programs, and one-on-one counseling), grief education (training for professionals and caregivers), and crisis support (rapid on-site response for schools, businesses, and organizations following a sudden death). Programming follows the Dougy Center peer-support methodology, with simultaneous adult and child groups allowing whole families to receive support at the same visit. The organization also operates weekend camp programming through partnerships with Camp RayBird (Camp Erin at Dustin's Place) and LifePlex (Camp DP).

The organization monetizes exclusively through donations, corporate and school sponsorships, and fundraising events such as the Giving Hope Gala; all services to families are provided at no charge, with a stated cost of approximately $572 per year to support one child. Service delivery is hybrid: in-person groups at the new Plymouth headquarters opened October 1, 2025, school-based programming, a satellite site at OneRoof Southeast Neighborhood Center in South Bend, weekend camps, and phone-based human registration. Headcount is approximately 5 staff supported by 23 volunteers and a Board of Directors. The organization was co-founded by Viki Brown, a certified grief counselor and young widow, and Ashlee Jackson.

Name

Dustin's Place

Legal name

Dustin's Place

Website

https://dustinsplace.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Dustin's Place is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2019 in Plymouth, Indiana that provides free, age-segmented peer grief support groups, school-based programs, individual counseling, crisis response, and weekend camps for grieving children, teens, adults, and families across northern Indiana.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Grief Support Services

NAICS

Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (62412), Child and Youth Services (62411), Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Palliative Care, Hospice & Serious Illness Support (BPAGACAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Mental Health & Crisis Support Services (BPAGACAD), Bereavement & Grief Support Services (Hospice-Affiliated/Independent) (HLADAHAL), End-of-Life Emotional & Spiritual Support (Chaplaincy/Counseling) In-Home (HSABAFAH)

Keywords

• Grief support services
• Peer support groups
• Bereavement counseling
• Children grief programs
• Family grief support

Headquarters

HQ city

Plymouth, Indiana

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations: Individual donations from community members supporting free grief services
2. Corporate/School Sponsorships: Sponsorship of school-based grief groups and events by businesses and organizations
3. Event Revenue: Fundraising events including annual Giving Hope Gala, trivia nights, and community events generate operational funding
4. Volunteer Contributions: Volunteer facilitators provide grief support services, reducing operational costs

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Dustin's Place provides free grief support to children, teens, adults, and entire families who have experienced the death of a loved one. Core offerings include age-segregated peer support groups running simultaneously for the whole family, 10-week school-based grief programs, one-on-one counseling (6-8 sessions), weekend grief camps, crisis support deployed to schools and organizations after a sudden death, and grief education seminars for professionals and caregivers. All services are provided at no cost to families and are funded through donations, corporate/school sponsorships, and fundraising events.

Product overview

Dustin’s Place offers a comprehensive grief support ecosystem centered on free peer support groups for children, teens, and adults who have experienced the death of a loved one. The core offering consists of ongoing peer support groups (Monday Night Family Nights, Alumni Nights, Daytime Adult Groups, and Dustin’s Place South Bend sessions) organized by age groups, supplemented by school-based 10-week programs. Additional services include individual one-on-one counseling (6–8 sessions for registered families), grief education and professional seminars for caregivers and professionals, immediate crisis support for schools and organizations following sudden death, and weekend camp programs (Camp DP day camp and Camp Erin overnight camp). All core services are provided free of charge, with the cost to support one child approximately $572 per year.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Peer Support Groups Free, age-segmented grief support groups (Littles 4-6 yr, Mids 7-9 yr, Tweens 10-13 yr, Teens 14-18 yr, and Adults) running simultaneously so entire families receive individual grief support at the same time. Families register by phone and attend at the Plymouth headquarters on a recurring schedule (Family Nights, Alumni Night, Daytime Adult Group).
• School-Based Grief Groups Free 10-week structured grief support program delivered directly inside local schools, designed for grieving students who cannot travel to evening group sessions.
• One-on-One Counseling Individual grief counseling (typically 6-8 sessions) available to registered Dustin's Place families, usable alongside group support or as a standalone service.
• Grief Education Training and education for professionals, caregivers, and community members who support grieving children, including a full-day professional seminar with a keynote from a certified grief counselor and interactive breakout sessions.
• Crisis Support Immediate on-site grief support that the Dustin's Place team deploys to schools, businesses, or organizations following a sudden death to support those who have been affected.
• Weekend Camps Camp programs providing grief support for grieving children and teens through camp-style activities, peer connection, and gentle grief processing. Includes Camp DP (day camp at LifePlex) and Camp Erin at Dustin's Place (overnight camp at Camp RayBird).

Quantifiable outcome

• 180 individuals served at new home in first 4 months
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Dougy CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational nonprofit providing resources and guidance for children's grief support. Dustin's Place is affiliated with and references Dougy Center resources including their podcast, activity guides, and best practices for supporting grieving children.
• National Alliance for Children's Grief (NACG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational organization promoting awareness of children's grief needs. NACG logo appears on Dustin's Place website, and Dustin's Place distributes NACG toolkits on supporting children grieving suicide, homicide, and creating child-friendly spaces in funeral homes.
• OneRoof Southeast Neighborhood CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner providing space for Dustin’s Place South Bend (DPSB) Family Grief Nights held on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month, enabling services for the South Bend community.
• LifePlexminorOthersLocal venue hosting Camp DP day camp activities on July 18, 2026.
• Camp RayBirdminorOthersCamp facility (25765 Edison Rd, South Bend, IN 46628) hosting Camp Erin at Dustin's Place overnight weekend camp September 25-27, 2026.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Bo's Place: Bo's Place is a Houston-based nonprofit offering free grief support groups for children, teens, and adults. It is structurally similar to Dustin's Place in operating model — free services, volunteer facilitators, peer group format, and grief-education programming.
• Ele's Place: Ele's Place is a Michigan-based nonprofit providing free, ongoing peer support programs for grieving children, teens, and adults. Its multi-site regional model and free-service positioning make it a directly comparable peer.
• Experience Camps: Experience Camps runs free summer camps for grieving children, directly comparable to Dustin's Place's Camp DP and Camp Erin programs. Both serve bereaved children through weekend/summer camp formats with peer connection as the central therapeutic mechanism.
• Judi's House: Judi's House (Denver) provides free, evidence-based grief support for children and families, similar to Dustin's Place's mission and free service model. Both organizations offer peer support groups, counseling, and community education for grieving families.
• Comfort Zone Camp: Comfort Zone Camp is a national nonprofit providing free grief camps and programs for children who have lost a parent or sibling. Its bereavement camp model directly parallels Camp Erin at Dustin's Place.
• Kids Konnected: Kids Konnected provides friendship, education, and support for children who have lost a parent, offering peer support groups, summer camps, and grief resources — directly comparable to Dustin's Place's children-focused programming.

Broad incumbents

• The Dougy Center: The Dougy Center is the national pioneer in children's grief support and a direct resource partner of Dustin's Place. Both organizations run peer-based grief groups for children, teens, and families following the same foundational model, making Dougy Center the closest direct comparable.
• The Compassionate Friends: The Compassionate Friends is a national nonprofit supporting bereaved parents and siblings through peer-led support groups. It overlaps with Dustin's Place's bereavement peer-support model but operates at national scale via volunteer-led local chapters.
• Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS): TAPS is the national nonprofit providing grief support to military families after the loss of a loved one. While serving a distinct population (military bereavement), it operates a comparable peer-group and counseling model with a national footprint.

Others

• National Alliance for Children's Grief (NACG): NACG is the national membership and advocacy body for children's grief organizations; Dustin's Place is a member organization and distributes NACG toolkits. NACG is best classified as an ecosystem/enabling peer rather than a direct service competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@dustinsplace5832
• Facebookfacebook.com/DustinsPlaceInc
• Instagraminstagram.com/dustinsplaceinc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dustin-s-place

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles19 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Dustin's Place