State contract to help Friends of Aine expand grief services

​MANCHESTER — Friends of Aine Center for Grieving Children and Families announced it has received a contract with the N.H. Department of Health and Human Services that will help the center expand its services.

​Friends of Aine provides peer-to-peer support services to help children and families grieving a death navigate a path to a hopeful future. The two-year contract provides a total of $499,413 for fiscal years 2024 and 2025 with an option to renew for up to four additional years.
 
Christine Phillips, co-founder and executive director of Friends of Aine, said the contract will provide critical support for the center, which has an annual operating budget of $1 million. Christine and David Phillips founded the center following the death of their daughter Aine at age 8 in 2010. To date, Friends of Aine has assisted nearly 600 families at no cost thanks to the generosity of donors.
 
“The support from the state will provide an incredible boost,” Christine Phillips said. “We wouldn’t be able to expand our programs and infrastructure without this contract.”
 
Friends of Aine reports one in 12 New Hampshire children grieve the loss of a loved one by age 18. In addition to peer-to-peer services at its Manchester location, Friends of Aine continues to expand its “Grief Backpack Initiative,” a program tailored to help social workers, counselors and teachers assist grieving children and their peers. The program is now in 156 schools across the state.
 
Friends of Aine’s Annual Gala fundraiser is Saturday, April 6 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Manchester​. For more information, visit FriendsofAine.com.