A Year in Review…

Turning Loss Into a Legacy of Hope

On August 21, 2025, Erica Naylor experienced a parent’s unimaginable heartbreak: the death of her son, Jobe. What began as a devastating loss soon became the beginning of something much bigger—a mission to make sure other families would not have to face the financial, practical, and emotional burdens of infant loss alone.

Just one month later, in September 2025, Jobe: The Road to Healing began taking shape as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Prattville, Alabama. Today, as the organization approaches its first anniversary, Jobe’s legacy has already touched more than 20 women and families.

This is the story of what can happen when grief is transformed into purpose.

From the Hardest Moment to a New Mission

Jobe’s footprints from the hospital staff.

In her September 2025 reflection, The Hardest Moment of My Life, Erica shared the reality of losing Jobe and the overwhelming questions that followed:

How do you begin to bury your baby?

Who do you call?

How do you afford a burial?

Erica and her family were ultimately connected with the Archdiocese of Mobile, which helped provide Jobe’s plot, grave marker, paperwork, and other necessities. She described herself as “lucky”—but that realization became a driving force behind the organization that was soon to follow…

Jobe: The Road to Healing

The experience exposed a painful reality: grieving parents can be left trying to navigate burial arrangements and unexpected expenses at the exact moment they are least equipped to handle them.

And so, an idea was born.

Together, a few people wanted to stand alongside parents following miscarriage or stillbirth, helping lift the burden of burial arrangements and financial concerns while also providing advocacy and emotional support.

As Erica wrote in the organization's early days, the name Jobe represented a journey in which trials would come, but healing would follow.

you can read Erica’s full story here:https://www.jobetheroadtohealing.org/updates/the-hardest-moment-of-my-life

A Mission Bigger Than One Family

We believe that babies born too soon for this world deserve dignity in their passing.

We believe parents should have the opportunity to honor their children and make decisions about laying them to rest without being overwhelmed by financial or practical barriers.

That mission addresses a need that is often difficult to see until someone experiences it firsthand.

We believe grieving families deserve advocates who will walk alongside them.

Our mission is to stand beside parents who choose to lay their children to rest following miscarriage or stillbirth. We strive to lift the burden of burial arrangements and financial concerns by providing financial support and advocates, while also offering emotional support, comfort, and compassion.

The name Jobe has become a reminder of the journey itself.

Jobe.

A name associated with trials—but also with the healing that can follow.

And so, the organization Jobe: The Road to Healing was born.

More Than 20 Women and Families Helped

One of the most meaningful milestones of our first year is knowing that we have now helped 20+ women and families.

That number represents much more than a statistic.

Because we know that 20+ is not simply a number.

It represents mothers.

It represents fathers.

It represents siblings.

It represents babies whose lives mattered.

It represents families whose lives were forever changed by the loss of a child.

It represents families who needed someone to stand beside them during one of the most painful experiences imaginable.

And it represents the growing community that has rallied around Jobe’s mission.

Jobe’s success is a testament to what can happen when a community chooses to turn compassion into action.

Pictured above are the types of keepsake items we have offered families who have come to us through loss.

Healing Beyond the Funeral

One of the most important things we have learned during our first year is that healing does not end when a child is laid to rest.

Grief continues.

Mother's Day can be difficult.

Birthdays can be difficult.

Anniversaries can be difficult.

And sometimes, grieving parents simply need a place where they can be around people who understand.

That is why our mission has grown beyond financial and burial assistance.

We want to help families along the entire road to healing.

Our first Healing Paint Session, held on May 30, 2026, was created specifically for mothers who were missing a special child during the month of Mother's Day. We wanted to provide an opportunity for healing through art—and we wanted the event to come at no cost to the mothers.

The event was made possible through an outpouring of community support. Champ's Barbeque in Wetumpka stepped forward to help, while individual supporters responded to the organization's “Sponsor a Mother” effort. Their generosity allowed us to expand registration from 12 mothers to 15.

The result was something incredibly special.

The room held tears.

It also held laughter.

Most importantly, it held mothers who understood one another.

One mother who attended described the experience as encouraging and helpful because she was surrounded by women who understood what she had been through.

That is healing.

You can view the full photo gallery from the event by clicking the button below or click the link: https://www.jobetheroadtohealing.org/updates/healing-paint-session-may-30-2026

Building a Network of Resources

We also recognize that sometimes families need help that goes beyond what we can personally provide. That is why we have worked to build a network of resources designed to help families find the support they need.

Our resource center provides connections for pathology and autopsy questions, working with specialists to help families find the right places for answers.

We also work with licensed counselors who can help parents continue their journey through grief.

Because we know that the story does not end with loss.

We also provide information about access to free ultrasound services for those who are feeling uneasy or need confirmation to help put their minds at ease.

And we want our resource network to continue growing.

If someone has a service they would like to provide for free, at a discounted rate, or through another 501(c)(3) organization that we cannot provide ourselves, we want to hear from you.

We believe healing takes a community.

Please be part of our community.

You may view our current resource page by clicking the button below or clicking the link here: https://www.jobetheroadtohealing.org/resources

A Community That Chose to Help

We could not have accomplished what we have accomplished in this first year by ourselves.

Jobe: The Road to Healing exists because people chose to care.

• People donated.

• Businesses stepped forward.

• Artists shared their talents.

• Board members gave their time and energy.

• Professionals offered resources.

• Mothers trusted us with their stories.

• And supporters chose to invest in families they may never have met.

Our Healing Paint Session was a beautiful example of what happens when a community comes together. What began as an idea became a room filled with 15 mothers, art, memories, laughter, tears, and understanding.

We are deeply grateful to everyone who has helped us make this mission possible.

Every donation matters.

Every volunteer matters.

Every connection matters.

Every family matters.

Every child matters.

One Year Later, Jobe's Legacy Lives On

Jobe lived only a short time, but his life has inspired a mission that continues to grow.

What began with a mother asking how she could bury her son has become an organization helping other mothers and families navigate the road she never wanted to travel.

In less than a year, Jobe: The Road to Healing has:

• Helped 20+ women and families affected by infant loss.

• Built a mission centered on dignity, advocacy, financial assistance, and emotional support.

• Been asked for public speaking events.

• Developed resources to help families navigate pathology, autopsy questions, grief counseling, and related needs.

• Created opportunities for grieving mothers to connect and heal together.

• Hosted its first Healing Paint Session, bringing 15 mothers together through art, remembrance, and community.

• Built relationships with local businesses, artists, supporters, professionals, and community organizations.

• Begun turning one family's experience into a lasting source of hope for others.

And the road is far from over.

The Road Ahead

The name Jobe: The Road to Healing carries an important reminder: healing is a road, not a destination.

For families experiencing miscarriage or stillbirth, the road can begin with shock and grief. It can continue through difficult decisions, financial concerns, paperwork, funeral arrangements, and questions that no parent should ever have to ask.

But along that road, there can also be compassion.

There can be community.

There can be someone willing to walk beside you.

That is what Jobe: The Road to Healing set out to become.

One year after Jobe's death, his name is no longer known only because of the loss that inspired it. His name is now connected to families being helped, mothers finding community, children being honored, and a growing movement determined to make sure grieving parents are not forgotten.

Jobe's story began with loss. But through Jobe: The Road to Healing, that story is becoming one of hope.

And we will keep walking this road.

For Jobe.

For the babies we have lost.

For the mothers and fathers who are grieving.

For the families still searching for answers.

And for every parent who needs someone to walk beside them.

This is Jobe: The Road to Healing.

And this is only year one.

The Board at a speaking event for Sunrise Rotary Club Downtown Montgomery May 29, 2026

Pictured: Vivienne Ducote, Mary Young, Hope Farnsworth, and Erica Naylor.