Sheree Young talks from experience.

She said when parents lose a child — regardless of the age of that child — they feel lost, hopeless. But after attending memorials — like the one scheduled Sunday at Atrium Medical Center — Young said parents start to understand the loss is “survivable.”

Young, perinatal grief and bereavement coordinator at the hospital, called the time after a loss the start of “a new journey.”

For some parents, that continues every year when the Help Endure a Loss (HEAL) program at Atrium hosts the Walk to Remember, now in its 14th year. It’s a 1/4-mile walk to the HEAL Memory Garden that will include reading of the names of deceased children and a ceremonial balloon release.

In its first year, the event attracted about 20 people, most of them there to support Young, who lost a child several years ago. Last year, Young said, more than 300 people attended the event. She said it’s important to remember that regardless of how old a child was when they died, their lives were “no less important.”

Young said around this time of the year, when the leaves start changing colors, signaling the inevitable arrival of winter, parents sometimes experience “very, very powerful” emotions. She said parents are encouraged to spend as much time as they need at the walk, and to openly express their feelings because they will be surrounded by parents sharing the same loss.

Parents Randy and Sarah McKenzie, of Germantown, will attend the walk, along with numerous friends and family members. On Oct. 12, 2011, the McKenzies lost their 3-month-old son, Pierce, who died from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Nearly one year later, their wounds are still fresh. She refer to Oct. 12 as Pierce’s “angelversary.”

“This is just a bad time of year,” said Sarah, a second-grade teacher at Bloomfield Elementary School in Trenton. “A very sensitive time. It’s going to be hard.”

The McKenzies recently had a tree planted in the garden in memory of Pierce. The tree, she said, “symbolizes our son and represents him so we can watch it grow like we would have watched him grow.”

As for Sunday, and every day since her son’s death, she said: “We pray for hope, peace and comfort.”