Twenty-five years after 9/11, one family is turning loss into a new AI tool for grief support.
Doora launched on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks as an AI grief companion from Hold the Door, a nonprofit founded in memory of Ronald Fazio Sr. He was killed after helping his coworkers evacuate the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
“We designed Doora to be a bridge for people in the moment when they’re going through a very difficult time so they can have a moment… where they say, ‘Maybe I can get through this. Maybe I can grow from this experience,'” Rob Fazio, Fazio Sr.’s son and founder of Hold the Door, told Fox News Digital.
“The foundation of Doora is built upon our 24 years of experience and research on post-traumatic growth and growth through loss and adversity.”
Fazio described the 24/7 chatbot as a “growth guide” that offers voice and text support for people dealing with grief when therapy or support from counselors, friends or family is not available.
A team of lawyers, psychologists and business leaders worked together to create Doora for people who are hesitant to seek help, Fazio said.
“Where we used to have people come to us, we realized that going to people and meeting them where they are physically, emotionally and psychologically gets much better results,” he said.
According to Fazio, every Hold the Door initiative, including the launch of the new AI tool, is meant to honor his father and his final act of heroism.
“His natural instinct of putting others first was really the birth of Hold the Door for others,” he recalled of his father. “That’s what me and my family have done for the last 25 years.”
Hold the Door also offers free workshops, grief resources and community programs inspired by the resilience that followed 9/11.
Fazio said grieving without his father’s remains brought unique challenges for his family. At the memorial service, they filled a coffin with treasured belongings that reflected his father’s life.
“In the absence of a body, sometimes it is hard to grieve,” he said.
Fazio said he made a promise at that service that later inspired his nonprofit.
“I’ll never forget, I was in a Catholic church when we were doing the service, and I said, ‘You know, my dad was a quiet man, but his legacy is going to be damn loud,'” he said.
That promise now lives on through Hold the Door and Doora, which Fazio said is designed to “really walk with users” through grief.
“We really are supportive and at the same time give people a little nudge toward their future while they’re honoring a loved one they lost or some adversity that they faced,” he said.
When grief feels overwhelming, Fazio said Doora can help people keep their pain from defining who they are or what comes next.
“You are who you are, and we can help you develop and create more of who you want to be,” he said.
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