Twin sisters Lauren (Johnson) Muckleroy and Melanie (Johnson) Dow were initially inspired to start Hope Road, a grief support center for children because of their own childhood loss when they lost their mother to lupus at the age of five. While they didn’t have a grief support center such as this one, they were able to find the love and support they needed in each other. Growing up, they learned that while there was no easy way to process this unimaginable loss, they were able to benefit from working through their grief side-by-side and were able to navigate it together through their own (albeit small and informal) peer support group.
The peer support they found in each other beginning at the age of 5 would carry them through a more recent grief journey as well. On November 22nd, 2023, the night before Thanksgiving, Lauren and her family were involved in a car accident which tragically took the lives of her 9 year-old daughter, Lindsay, her 12 year-old son, Judson and her husband, Zach. Almost 18 months later, they lost their 19 year old nephew, Jonas, tragically as well. Throughout these times, Lauren and Melanie have seen a direct need within their own family and community for this kind of peer support for children who live in Central Texas. It became clear to them that their vision of starting Hope Road, their own grief support center for children must become a reality. Peer support matters, and every grieving child is deserving of the healing that comes from these relationships.
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