MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — A Children’s Grief Center in Manatee County is helping kids ages 4 to 18 heal and overcome loss with a new approach. They say their support structure is evidence-based treatment.

Danielle Wondrak is envisioning a world where she has special powers.

“I would fly so that I could fly around all of the kids that need help,” she said.

Wondrak is the program manager at Blue Butterfly Family Grief Center. Her goal is to help kids cope with their grief.

“I’m Mackenzie. I’m here to remember my brother. If I had a superpower, it would be to control all of the electronics,” she said.

It’s the first Superhero Day at the center. Each child gets to pick their superpower so they can be their own hero.

Wondrak knows what these kids are going through. She lost her father when she was 10 years old.

“He had thyroid cancer. A very rare type, and from the day of diagnosis to when he died was 65 days,” she said.

It was a shock to her, and she wishes people around her had done more to help her grieve.

“I went to a private Catholic school. So everyone’s way of dealing with it was just to tell me, like, 'Oh, pray about it and he’ll get better.' But that didn’t happen,” she said.

Wondrak helped create this day so that kids could be their own support system, learning how to handle grief through activities like writing uplifting words on a mirror.

“So we’re trying to teach the kids that they have this within them. They know that they’re brave, they know that they’re courageous and that they’re hopeful. But sometimes it gets lost. When we’re grievers, we’re vulnerable,” she said.

This day helped 9-year-old Savannah. She is grieving the loss of her father, who was a firefighter and served in the Army.

“He was very funny and brave,” she said.

The kids draw their superhero on a T-shirt so when they leave they can remember to be their own hero.

“It’s a doctor superhero because I really want to be able to help people feel better because my dad died from cancer. So I wanted to be able to heal things like that,” she said.

Wondrak says when kids are in a big group with others going through a similar situation, it allows them to understand themselves better.

“Grief doesn’t require mental health counseling. Our kids are not mentally ill. They don’t have a diagnosis. They are just grieving. They are missing someone that they love. And really, the best way to help them through that is support and love and to feel like, OK, I am not alone,” she said.

With the support of a superhero, Danielle makes sure these children persevere.

The Blue Butterfly Family Grief Center launched a pilot program in Manatee County schools to train the mental health counselors on how to help with students’ grief. The program was such a success that the organization is planning to expand to Sarasota County for the next school year. For those families who want to seek help, all of the Blue Butterfly services are free.