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  • Your Hospice of Choice
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  • End-of-Life Care
  • Grief Support
  • Children's Grief
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  • Common Questions
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Our Services

Children's Grief

We can help when children grieve.

Kids, like adults, grieve in different ways. It's sometimes difficult to read the signs, and it's sometimes easy to pretend that they'll just bounce back.

That may be true ... some kids do just bounce back. But very often they don't.  Kid's, like adults, could sometimes use a little help.

Colleen Ballinger, pictured here, is one of our children's grief specialists.  She says:

"Unfortunately, through no fault of their own, the adults in their lives aren't always able to help. Some are struggling with their own grief, making it difficult for them to cope with the grief of someone else, and others feel uncertain about what is the right thing to do for a child."

That's where we come in. If you have a child, or know of a child who is grieving, we can help.  You don't need to go it alone.

 

Grief Support Groups

Our Grief Support Group helps both children and their parents or caregivers. They are free of charge, though donations are always welcome.

View Images: Click to see images of a recent Hospice of The Gorge Grief Support Group for children.

 

For Children

Our support groups are an oppotunity for children who have suffered the loss of a loved one, either a family member or a friend, to get both the skilled help and peer support they may need.

• Our children's groups are run by trained facilitators. Children get the opportunity to participate in "talking circle" time, and are able to express their feelings in art, music and playtime.
• Spending this time with their peers helps them to understand that they're not "different" from other children, that other children experience grief in their families, too.

For Parents or Caregivers

The support groups are also an opportunity for adults to learn how to help their children through the process of grief, as well as to better cope with their own grief journeys. 

• Like the children, adults get the chance to spend time with their peers, and to be in the comfort of people going through experiences similar to their own.
• They also get the chance to learn ways to better understand the journeys that their kids are on, and are able to acquire a range of tools and tips that can help.

 

Tips for Adults

Click here for TIPS for HELPING children in grief.

Whether you are a family member, teacher or other concerned adult, you may be in a position to help a child who has suffered a loss. Here are some things you can do:

• Listen and talk with children
• Invite children to be involved
• Help children in their day-to-day world
• Acknowledge and allow for differences
• Take time to care for yourself