Family Stories – Tu Nidito

From Participant to Volunteer to Fundraiser: Meet a Remarkable Tu Nidito Teen

Brie Seward — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 17:34:28 +0000

We are honored to share the inspiring story of a Tu Nidito teen whose journey has come full circle—from a grieving child seeking support, to a dedicated volunteer facilitator, to a proud fundraiser riding for Tu Nidito through our Ride for a Child campaign as a part of the 42nd annual El Tour De Tucson. Her strength, generosity, and commitment to helping others shine brightly, and we’re grateful to celebrate her story with our community.

Finding Tu Nidito at Nine Years Old

At just nine years old, Kyla Kolomichuk and her brother came to Tu Nidito after the heartbreaking death of their little sister, who died of cancer. Their family joined Tu Nidito’s support group program for children who have a sibling with a serious medical condition, where they found understanding, connection, and a place where their grief was welcomed.

She remembers the relief of having a space where talking about her sister was encouraged. “There were definitely a lot of times I felt like people didn’t want me to talk about my loss or wanted me to keep it to myself,” she shared. “But Tu Nidito was a safe space where my brother and I could grieve and do crafts that helped us process our emotions.” She recalls spending hours in the Imagination Room playing out pretend hospital scenarios—a powerful part of her emotional processing at the time.

Coming Back as a Volunteer Facilitator

Now 16 and attending Tanque Verde High School, Kyla’s returned to Tu Nidito—this time as a Littles facilitator. A close friend, Ella, who also attended Tu Nidito as a child, encouraged her to volunteer.

“I realized that going back to help out was an opportunity, and I immediately signed up,” she said.

Volunteering hasn’t always been easy. “My personal experience has made it difficult because these kids have been through so much, and it’s hard knowing that other people are going through something like what I did,” she explained honestly. “Though I think it helps me connect with them.”

Even though she’s new to facilitating, she already knows what means the most: “Right now, the most meaningful part is knowing that there is even the chance that I could make any kid feel less alone in the world.”

Riding for a Child: Giving Back Through El Tour de Tucson

This year, she added fundraiser to her growing list of roles by participating in Ride for a Child during El Tour de Tucson. Though she’s raced El Tour many times, this was her first time riding to support Tu Nidito.

“I stumbled across the opportunity to ride in support of an organization I care a lot about,” she shared. “It was honestly so much fun raising money for Ride for a Child, and I’m really glad I did it.”

She completed the 34-mile ride alongside a close friend—no intense training, just trust, experience, and the joy of riding for a meaningful cause. “Participating in El Tour as part of my connection to Tu Nidito was really meaningful. It felt like a wonderful way to continue giving back and honoring my sister.”

Why Ride for a Child Matters

Her message to the community is simple and powerful:

“Tu Nidito ensures that no one has to grieve alone, and that every person’s pain doesn’t have to be carried by themself. This mission is so important for everyone who has experienced loss, and Ride for a Child keeps Tu Nidito able to do these things.”

A Full-Circle Journey

Reflecting on her journey—from a grieving child to a compassionate helper—she says:

“When I first joined Tu Nidito, I was nine years old and in need of support. Now I get the opportunity to be the person who supports those kids in need of help. It’s magical to know that I could be a part of anything even remotely close to helping someone grieving alone. Fundraising felt so good—to give back and honor my sister.”

We are incredibly proud of her, grateful for her service, and honored to walk alongside her as she continues to transform her grief into healing—for herself and for others.

A Tu Nidito Family’s Story of Grief and Love

tnAdmin — Fri, 19 Jun 2020 02:38:53 +0000

Guest Writers: The Rubio Family

Like many holidays and milestones, Father’s Day can be tricky. For some, it brings a day of celebration and togetherness; for others, a poignant reminder of loss and grief. However you are heading into this weekend, we would like to invite you to express your feelings in a way that may be new to you. As a family, or individually, tell your story. Your story may be marked by beauty, pain, hope, sadness… It can be a glimpse of a moment, a feeling, or a whole lifetime. Whatever you write is worth expressing. Storytelling can happen through writing, drawing, or other art forms. You can choose to keep it to yourself, or share it with others.

As an inspiring example to begin our storytelling this Father’s Day, a Tu Nidito family is sharing about their personal grief journey. For the first time, Anita and her three children are spending this Father’s Day without their dad, Aaron. Thank you, Rubio family, for opening your hearts and sharing your story.

My two oldest children, Carys and Daniel, have their father’s green eyes. Daniel has his dad’s mannerisms to the point where some of my family members still slip up and call him “Aaron” – his dad’s name. They were buddies. Even our youngest, Kyndra Joy, can impersonate some of her dad’s facial expressions like nobody else. All three of them have an amazing sense of humor that I absolutely love.

Last Father’s Day, their first gift to their “Dada” was a potato they’d drawn a silly face on and meticulously wrapped. It was followed by a t-shirt that read, “My favorite people call me Dad”. I’m not sure which gift Aaron loved more. Unbeknownst to us, that Father’s Day week would be the last time we would all live together with any semblance of “normalcy”. He and I had our struggles until, heartbreakingly, Aaron died by suicide only a few months later.

Needless to say that for nearly the last 12 months, I have looked ahead to the month of June with a bit of a knot in my stomach. There has been uncertainty about how to approach this year – the kids’ first Father’s Day since their dad died. For us, however, there has been nothing more healing than sitting together sharing memories, whether that meant laughing together, crying together, or both. It is exactly why we have found the services at Tu Nidito to be so beneficial. The children and I each have a place there where we can speak Aaron’s name and dedicate some time to share special memories, talk about how our present lives are affected, and even consider things that may come up in the future. Most kids seem to recoil from the notion that there is anything that makes them too different from their peers. Losing a father to suicide is certainly not something that any of their school friends or family members could directly relate to. I credit this organization with giving my kids, and many like them, a safe place to identify and speak up about their true thoughts and feelings, which has played such a vital role in our family’s healthy healing over the many months we have been with them.

Carys, 13 years old

My dad and I shared a love for birds. For Christmas in 2018 I got a cardinal puzzle. It was 3-D, but the instructions were vague and unclear. My dad was very interested in this puzzle and helped me by looking it up online. He told me where each piece could go. We finished it and left it out for everyone to see. We were proud of it. My dad’s name was Aaron. He was a good dad, and I loved him.

Daniel, 11 years old

One of the things I miss most was Dad’s food. He made the best mac and cheese, that stuff was legendary and no other mac and cheese maker could compare. His super good meal was his biscuits and gravy; spicy and peppery, and the biscuits were perfection. And when he made chilaquiles, he would always let me cut tortillas into chip shapes before he fried them.

My dad was a great father, but after he died of suicide lots of things changed. I started to feel left out because I am the only boy in my family now. I also started wishing for him back, and I would try and remember what fun things we did when we were together. I still remember the silly reasons why he would scold us. Also I still remember the great foods he would make. But most importantly, he cared for me and my family.

Kyndra, 8 years old

My dad was so fun! His name was Aaron. He loved hound dogs, so we had three. Every night when I said goodnight, Dada would give me lots of high fives before giving me a poke in the belly. And the memory that keeps playing in my head is his goofy laugh, a really adorable laugh that lit up his whole face!

After hearing each of my children share some of their favorite memories about their father, we all sat surrounded by a flood of emotions. We still have a long road ahead of us as we experience many other firsts in life without him, but I am also confident that they- that we- will all be ok. As a mom that is doing my best to be present with them every day, I am also so proud of them for sitting with the pain long enough to make it to whatever is on the other side of it. I’ve been surprised a number of times at how such intense pain can actually be turned to thankfulness and joy. Of course they will never forget their father, that loss will forever be with them, but likewise, they will never forget these and other very special memories of him. For those close to our family, I would even reassure them that they should not be afraid to speak Aaron’s name to us, since he is never far from our thoughts anyway. We have all learned to press into our faith this year, embrace our own journey, and we have grown closer as a family than I ever knew possible.

– Anita Rubio

For Littles and Younger Middles (Ages 3.5 – 10):

The Heart and the Bottle by Oliver Jeffers (Philomel Books, Penguin, 2010)
Boats for Papa by Jessixa Bagley
Knock Knock My Father’s Dream for Me by Daniel Beaty
The Blue Roses by Linda Boyden
The Grandad Tree by Trish Cooke

For Older Middles and Teens (Ages 11-18):

Rebound by Kwame Alexander with illustrations by Dawud Anyabwile (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018)
Mama’s Gonna Buy You a Mockingbird by Jean Little
Be Light Like a Bird by Monika Schroeder
We Are Okay by Nina LaCour (Dutton, 2017)

If you have questions about Tu Nidito’s services or need support following a medical diagnosis or death of a loved one, please contact us.

Caring for the Niche: Tu Nidito’s Young Adult Bereavement Support Group

tnAdmin — Tue, 25 Feb 2020 04:55:19 +0000

This is Serena Sahajian. In 2013, Serena’s mother died after fighting brain cancer for 9 months. A film student at the time and in the wake of her grief, she sought services at the University of Arizona’s Counseling and Psych Services center (CAPS). Her therapist referred her to Tu Nidito’s Young Adult Bereavement Support Group. With much hesitation, Serena called Tu Nidito and, for the first time, told a complete stranger that her mother died. She recalls being received with gentleness and warmth. The Young Adult Bereavement Support Group is a safe space for young adults ages 18-29 to receive support, care, and comfort after experiencing the death of a loved one. It is a welcoming environment where young adults can share stories, engage and connect with others, learn healthy coping skills, and ultimately find hope and support through their grief journey. The group meets twice monthly near the University of Arizona campus. It was within this new community that Serena found the comfort and support she needed as she navigated the challenges of grief.

Years later, Serena decided it was time to give back to the community that had given so much to her. After considering her progress along her grief journey, she felt prepared to do so. Since then, Serena has gone from Tu Nidito volunteer, to part-time staff, to her current position as a full-time Support Specialist. Her role now includes the task of facilitating the Young Adult Bereavement Support Group. As fate would have it, Serena has come “full-circle,” guiding the group that she became a part of years prior.

Serena explains that young adults can become particularly lonely and isolated in their grief. “Bereaved young adults are a niche in our society who are all too easy to overlook; They’ve often moved away from home and have yet to form attachments in a new community,” she notes. Their support system may be weak and inadequate. Therefore, this particular support group fills a genuine need here in Tucson.

But, what if a young adult isn’t able to attend a formal support group? Those individuals are welcome to join us for Tu Nidito’s Gathering for The Grieving. Bereaved young adults can come have a casual meal or simply share space with fellow grievers. There will be no pressure to share explicitly about their grief at the event. This series will begin in the Summer of 2020 and occur quarterly.

Serena wants young adults who may consider joining the support group or attending a future Gathering to know that there is a space for them. They don’t have to be “okay,” and other people will understand that because they’re not okay either. The stigma surrounding the expression of grief in our culture is, in a word, exhausting. It’s tiresome to hold in your thoughts and to feel as if you can’t be open about what you’re experiencing. That is why this work is so essential. It’s the “profound moments” that keep Serena going; When someone shares their death loss with the group for the first time, or sheds tears in the company of understanding friends; When someone poses a fear that they face and everyone else nods in agreement, as if saying, “I feel that, too.” It is our hope here at Tu Nidito that the profound moments will continue, especially as we expand our reach into the community to ensure that no child, no family, and no young adult grieves alone.

For more information regarding the Young Adult Bereavement Support Group or the upcoming Gathering for The Grieving series, contact Serena at serena@tunidito.org or call (520) 322-9155.

Pictured above are family photos provided by Serena. In the first, Serena is pictured with her mother Julie, holding a small puppy together. The second is a photo of Julie looking out into the ocean, holding Serena’s brother in her arms when he was a baby.