Charlotte grief coach has heart for mending broken hearts

ABIDING GRACE LLC

Willetta Collins Jones, owner and founder of Abiding Grace LLC, puts her training as a grief counselor to help clients who are dealing with loss – from the death of a loved one to a job.

Grief comes in many forms and affects everyone differently.

Willetta Collins Jones, owner and founder of Abiding Grace LLC, has always had a heart for serving. As a grief coach, she supports people going through loss. 

“It’s a part of me,” said Jones, whose resume include school administration and teaching in Georgia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools from 1986-1996 as well as life skills/GED program director at the Ada Jenkins Center in Davidson. “It’s part of the family values that [she and husband Horatio] have with our mothers and families. My mother was a trained social worker, and my husband’s mother was an extension agent for the state of Maryland. … So, we are always looking for ways to help people.”

Horatio Jones, who has been in the news industry for over 50 years, is a grief coach as well – in large part because of things he has seen in his time in media. 

“I started with the Wilmington, Delaware, News Journal as a copy boy back in 1967,” he said. “I then became one of the reporters on one of their teams at the time. I was also a news director at WBOC-TV, a CBS affiliate in Maryland for about 10 years. I also worked as a producer for CBS News for 34 years, so I have seen a lot and it makes it easy for me to empathize with people who are going through a lot.”

In 2018 Horatio and Willetta became certified grief coaches and the next year, Abiding Grace was launched. Every person and every grief situation is different, so every case starts with what Willetta describes as a “discovery call.”

“I call it the ‘get to know each other,’ call,” she said. “It helps me see if I as a grief coach and the person as a client will fit together. This is a partnership we form. So, after asking the initial questions and finding out if the partnership will work, the person will decide if they want to start having sessions with me.”

Abiding Grace has several counseling options and prices vary based on the number of sessions a client feels are needed. 

“We have different packages that range from six sessions, eight sessions, 10 and even 12 sessions depending on what conclusions we come to after we have our discovery call,” Willetta said. “There is what I call an investment fee, because you are investing in your mental health. That is a $100 flat fee. It happens before the discovery call.” 

With every individual comes unique challenges in coaching them through grief. The most important key is listening and comforting. 

“I use different techniques that we were taught in grief coaching to guide me,” Willetta said, “and then, my faith and just getting to know that person and making them feel safe. In the sessions this is something that will be good for them and good for both of us. We learn from each other. It’s not a situation where I’m up here on a pedestal and you’re down here. It is a partnership.”

A common misconception is that grief can only come from the loss of a loved one. Willetta said there are 450,000 different types of grief and loss. 

“There is grief from the death of a loved one,” she said. “People can grieve the loss of a pet. The loss of a job can cause grief; the loss of a relationship. And that is just a small amount of them.”

Said Horatio: “Anything that causes a change in life circumstance can bring you grief. … Essentially you are thrown off your axis. That is what we as grief coaches deal with. Most people think of the easiest thing that one will grieve is death, but it is anything that spins you off your axis. We empathize with people experiencing that and want to help.” 

Comments