Holly Strelzik
Holly Strelzik is on a mission to rebrand grief. Her personal experiences including childhood trauma, a near-fatal aneurysm, and her husband’s diagnosis with Alzheimer’s Disease prompted Holly to reexamine grief first as a hospice volunteer and then in the form of a career shift.
Her second act began when she was certified as an end-of-life doula, eventually leading to her certification as an Advanced Grief Recovery Method Specialist.™ During the many years Holly spent serving individuals and families facing a wide range of experiences related to grief and loss, she realized the deep need for widespread end-of-life literacy and care. It was out of that need that Center For The Heart, a nonprofit organization committed to delivering such services was born.
What were your initial years of growing up like? Tell us about your life before starting your corporate journey/venture/initiative.
My journey has been a rollercoaster, a rocky road. Devastating, uplifting, healing. So rewarding in the sense that at the end of the day, I believe that everything which brought me to where I am now has made me who I am today. I don’t know if that makes any sense. But I think everyone who’s reading this understands how our life experiences are so profound in shaping us for whatever our purpose ultimately is. I come from Kentucky. We were the only Asian family in a very small town population 4000 where my father was the Director of the Black Lung clinic. My mother was a sheltered young mother trying to find her way in this coal mining town raising their 5 children. Unfortunately, my mother did not have the internal resources to give us the skills and insights that were so necessary for a more balanced life. I wasn’t worldly at all as a matter of fact I was content with flipping pizzas at a local grocery store the rest of my life. Our home life was very chaotic and scary at times due to parents that didn’t see eye-to-eye and my father’s abuse. Little did the community we live in know who he really was when all they saw and THOUGHT they knew was that he was the caring family doctor. Growing up with 5 siblings brought joy, disappointment, closeness and fear of losing one another as we all went through our changes and moved from the nest. At the end of the day, we are a close knit group, not perfect, but are there for one another at the asking.
Tell us something about your initiative/business. What is it about and how is it helpful for people?
I’ve been doing grief work for over 12 years. When I formed my first company, I worked hard at educating the senior healthcare community on the work of an end-of-life doula. In addition, networking throughout these communities paid off in connecting me with the resources necessary to bring any individual/family the support and care they need during this stage of life. Grief care was always at the forefront of the work I was doing within the senior communities. It was clear that the need for end-of-life and grief support needed to be a complete service. The Center for the Heart was built in January, 2023. This has been a true labor of love. When I spoke about balance earlier, that has been a key factor in this creation. My first and foremost priority is caring for my husband who at a very young age (59) was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. For someone who has worked in the space of terminal illness, dying and grief this diagnosis was huge for our entire family. After many months of delving and working passionately on my own grief AND my head spinning with all that I knew had to be done to prepare, settling into a focused initiative was key. We have amazing, hard working dedicated people working with us. We have onboarded doulas to start doing the work and now we are preparing our launch of the doula program to bring to the hospitals, hospices and elder facilities. As a nonprofit, fundraising for these initiatives is key. C4TH continues to provide grief education and grief support workshops that empower individuals (with all types of losses) to take logical steps towards healing. We have developed and are ready to launch grief support programs to work with caregivers, teachers, parents and anyone responsible for children and teens. Our program empowers them with teachings and resources, enabling them to support children, youth and families who have experienced traumatic events, homelessness and other losses. I’m very proud and honored to be able to offer these services to our communities. It’s so necessary. Now, the challenge is raising awareness and RAISING FUNDS.
While the global pandemic of COVID-19 is associated primarily with adversities, it has also brought about a true boom in startups, with successful entrepreneurship in many countries. The pandemic has impacted all of us in one way or another. Would you like to share your experience on a personal and professional level?
During the pandemic my very young husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. It wasn’t the pandemic that was the impetus for starting this organization, it was the diagnosis.
What has been the response of the users/consumers towards your venture?
As an Advanced Certified Grief Recovery Method Specialist individuals whose grief has overtaken them have been coming to me in groves.
How has your life changed because of your initiative/venture?
I am even more driven to bring end-of-life and grief support to those who have no resources. The need is so prevalent all over the world. Individuals need to be able to have a peaceful death and those left behind need to be given the opportunity to heal.
Do you have anyone who is the biggest support system in your life? Please let us know.
My teachers, healers and those who are passionate about end-of-life support are invaluable to me.
Would you like to share with our young budding women entrepreneurs the change you would like to see in the world if given an opportunity? OR Share a motivational message for the audience/women who are reading this.
Remember that asking for help is not giving up, it is moving forward to full expansion.
Get in touch with her:
www.centerfortheheart.com Facebook https://www.facebook.com/centerfortheheart Instagram https://www.instagram.com/centerfortheheartnj/ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/center-for-the-heart/