In the summer of 2017, Dr. Fabiola Constant\u2019s life split into “before” and “after.”<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s when our son\u2019s tragic accident occurred,\u201d Constant said.<\/p>\n
Her son, Yvince Princeton Constant Jr.\u2014nicknamed Lou, for \u201cLove Others Unconditionally\u201d\u2014was just two and a half years old when he drowned. While authorities conducted an investigation, Constant and her husband have long believed there may have been foul play involved and feel that the circumstances remain unresolved.<\/p>\n
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Yvince Princeton Constant Jr., better known as “LOU,” which stands for “Love Others Unconditionally.”<\/p>\n
(Courtesy of the Lou Foundation)<\/p>\n
In the devastating aftermath, the couple found themselves in a “dark place,” struggling to hold their family together. In that isolation, Constant searched for a support system she couldn’t find.<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn’t find anybody I could relate to. In my head at that moment, I didn’t realize that it was other moms like me,\u201d she said. \u201cI never want another mom to feel like that. I didn’t want anyone else to be in a space where they don’t have a community to belong to or to relate to or talk to or lean on.\u201d<\/p>\n
That wish became the seed for Lou Foundation Inc., a nonprofit founded in 2017 and formally incorporated in 2019. Today, the foundation serves bereaved mothers, or \u201cBmoms,\u201d fathers, or \u201cBdads,\u201d and families across Miami-Dade and Broward counties through three pillars: bereavement, youth empowerment, and family and community care.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI never want another mom to feel like that. I didn’t want anyone else to be in a space where they don’t have a community to belong to or to relate to or talk to or lean on.\u201d-Dr. Fabiola Constant<\/p>\n
(Lou Foundation)<\/p>\n
Healing spaces beyond therapy<\/p>\n
Constant\u2019s approach is shaped by the cultural realities of Black, Brown, and Caribbean communities, where traditional therapy is sometimes stigmatized. While she embraced therapy, she recognized that for many, “just praying” was the only suggested remedy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was like, \u2018God, besides therapy, what else?\u2019 Because grief affected the whole family dynamic. It affected my husband. We had other kids.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Dr.Fabiola Constant with Lou.<\/p>\n
(Courtesy of the Lou Foundation)<\/p>\n
When her husband was initially hesitant about formal counseling, Constant got creative.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery time I would go to therapy, I would learn stuff, then I would bring it home and teach him in an innovative, creative way where it wasn’t like I was doing therapy with him, but in fact, I was actually doing therapy with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
This evolved into the foundation\u2019s Mommy & Me and Daddy & Me brunches, which serve as interactive gatherings.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor example, we’ll do a puzzle game that requires everyone at that table to assemble the puzzle piece together, where they have to communicate. They have to listen. They have to work together as a team,\u201d Constant said.<\/p>\n
The goal is intentional connection.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’re always taught to work, and we figure because we’re working and we’re providing that quality time, that’s family, that’s love. No, it is not,\u201d Constant said. \u201cIt’s the thing that you cannot put money on is actually love.\u201d<\/p>\n
A 24-hour lifeline<\/p>\n
A cornerstone of the foundation is its private, 24-hour Facebook group for bereaved mothers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a 24-hour support group via Facebook to allow them to let their hair down, to allow them to be them,\u201d Constant said. \u201cIt allowed us to come in and cry.\u201d<\/p>\n
The philosophy is simple: grief cannot be rushed. Constant described the group as a place to be honest about hard days, anniversaries, and the emotional unpredictability of grief.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s OK not to be OK,\u201d she said. \u201cBut the key thing is, just don’t get stuck, push forward. Press forward. Even if it’s a baby step, it still moves you forward. We give you the tools, the resources, the connection, the community that you need to help you navigate that process.\u201d<\/p>\n
The foundation supplements this digital support with the Lotus Bloom Gathering, a six-week healing program, and semi-annual \u201cVisions Are Infinite\u201d workshops. These workshops focus on accountability and goal-setting, helping members regain control of their finances and personal milestones.<\/p>\n
For Mairlyn Lightbourn-Oshodi, who lost her son to violence years ago, the foundation filled a decades-long void.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Mairlyn Lightbourn-Oshodi, a Bmom, right, and in the middle, Dr. Fabiola Constant.<\/p>\n
(Courtesy of the Lou Foundation)<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen my son was taken, it was like my life was just shattered,\u201d she said. \u201cI got mad with everyone. For many years, I felt I couldn’t even drive down the street where he is currently laid to rest. I couldn’t put up pictures of him in the house. It was just devastating.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, she said she had never been in community with other grieving parents until she found the Lou Foundation during a Bahamas retreat where she met Constant.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore, I wasn’t involved with other parents who have lost their child or children,\u201d she said. \u201cBut after connecting with Bmoms, I was like, there are other parents, you’re able to share your feelings, you’re able to cry. You’re able to let go in a safe place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Community care and youth empowerment<\/p>\n
Lou Foundation\u2019s outreach extends beyond grief circles. Its quarterly \u201cBmoms Helping Hands Homeless Distribution Love Brunch\u201d serves meals and essentials to more than 300 people experiencing homelessness.<\/p>\n
Constant said the outreach grew, in part, after she encountered a bereaved mother in crisis.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the Bmoms was homeless, and we helped her transition from homelessness to stability,\u201d she said. \u201cShe was able to find a job, have a house, and provide for her kids.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beyond bereavement, the Lou Foundation invests in youth through entrepreneurship and literacy initiatives. Its YoungPreneurs Showcase provides a platform for children to present businesses, talents, and creative projects.<\/p>\n
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The YoungPreneurs program.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
(Courtesy of the Lou Foundation)<\/p>\n
The youth work grew out of Constant\u2019s parenting, helping her daughter develop a business concept.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe gave them that outlet to express their grief, to express their trauma, their loss, in a positive and meaningful way where they are able to thrive,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re always there to support them. We encourage them. We’re big on education, so we always make sure all the dots and stuff are connected.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lou\u2019s Healing Pages, a literacy and publishing initiative, helps children process trauma through storytelling and self-expression. It grew out of one of her son’s interests in writing.<\/p>\n
From grief to growth<\/p>\n
Though rooted in South Florida, the foundation\u2019s impact has followed families as they relocate to states like Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, and California. Constant\u2019s goal is to continue expanding this network, ensuring no parent has to navigate the “after” alone.<\/p>\n
At its core, Constant says the message remains consistent: healing looks different for everyone.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s different for everyone because of support,\u201d she said. \u201cThe ones that actually have support, the navigation process looks a little bit different compared to those that don’t have support.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Constant, the mission is a daily choice to transform pain into purpose.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all have an expiration date,\u201d she added. \u201cBut while you\u2019re here, what are you doing to make a difference? What are you doing to leave a legacy?\u201d<\/p>\n
For her, that legacy is Lou.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why I like to say \u2018from grief to growth,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cFrom pain to power, from loss to legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the summer of 2017, Dr. Fabiola Constant\u2019s life split into “before” and “after.” \u201cThat\u2019s when our son\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":176880,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[83571,83563,83576,83567,83566,83585,83578,83586,83564,83581,83570,83562,83579,83565,83582,225,227,226,83590,83568,83561,83574,83584,83577,83575,83589,83569,83587,83580,83583,83588,83573,83572],"class_list":["post-176879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hialeah","tag-24-hour-bereavement-support-group","tag-bereaved-mothers-support-miami","tag-bereaved-parents-community","tag-bereavement-community-miami-dade","tag-black-and-caribbean-grief-support","tag-black-mental-health-support-miami","tag-bmoms-helping-hands","tag-caribbean-community-healing","tag-child-loss-support-south-florida","tag-childhood-drowning-awareness","tag-daddy-and-me-grief-brunch","tag-dr-fabiola-constant","tag-family-and-community-care-miami","tag-grief-healing-programs-miami","tag-grief-to-growth-movement","tag-hialeah","tag-hialeah-headlines","tag-hialeah-news","tag-legacy-building-after-loss","tag-lotus-bloom-gathering","tag-lou-foundation-miami","tag-lous-healing-pages-literacy-program","tag-miami-bereavement-resources","tag-miami-homelessness-outreach","tag-miami-trauma-healing-initiatives","tag-miami-youth-entrepreneurship-programs","tag-mommy-and-me-grief-brunch","tag-parental-grief-support-florida","tag-south-florida-nonprofit-organizations","tag-trauma-informed-community-programs","tag-visions-are-infinite-workshops","tag-youngpreneurs-showcase","tag-youth-empowerment-miami-nonprofits"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176879","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=176879"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176879\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/176880"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=176879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=176879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=176879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}