FCHD teaches children about ‘good grief’

Many of us, as adults, struggle through difficult times when we lose a loved one. Imagine what it’s like for a child, especially one who has not previously experienced the loss of a parent, grandparent or friend.
The Fayette County Health Department’s hospice employees and volunteers have come up with a way to help children understand and deal with the death of loved ones.
On Saturday, Oct. 1, the hospice workers and volunteers will present “Good Grief,” a day full of activities and sessions geared toward youth ages 18 and under.
As Panzi Blackwell explains in this week’s Fayette Faces, the program features “activities and discussion groups (that) are designed to help educate youth about the grief process and encourage ways to gain inner strength.”
Youth participating in the “Good Grief” program will have the opportunity to hear from and talk with people who are trained and experienced in this area.
They also will have the chance to talk with other children their age who are also learning how to deal with and handle grief. They, too, will learn ways to express their feelings and learn how they can keep the memories of their loved ones alive.
There are, as Panzi explains, positive and healing ways to deal with grief. That’s what “Good Grief” is all about.
We, as adults, sometimes can have a difficult time explaining death to a child, and helping them through the grieving process.
This is where the program offered by FCHD Hospice comes in. It’s something that can be of great benefit to our children.
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