The Good Grief Patrol

We had another successful Good Grief Patrol workshop last Saturday!! It was a smaller group of kids, but they were spontaneous and creative and just had a great time! Our next workshop will be Feb 3, and we already have a couple of people signed up, so give us a call if you would like to attend!

the month of November!!

In recognition of Children's Grief Awareness Month this November, the National Alliance for Children's Grief (NACG) is coming together with its dedicated members to "flip the script" on grief. Throughout the month, NACG and its partners are committed to providing essential tools and resources to foster a more grief-informed society. This initiative, created by NACG with support from national childhood grief organizations, Eluna, Experience Camps, Dougy Center, and Judi’s House, seeks to address the common challenges people face when supporting those who are grieving, aiming to replace potentially hurtful statements or silence with comforting and constructive responses.

Stay tuned the month of November for more information on how YOU can !!

Six months ago today, the NACG launched the Teen Grief Journal. We have received great feedback on this resource, and we are proud to have it fill a gap for many who are serving teens who are grieving. This journal was developed by teens who were involved in every step of the process and includes quotes from them throughout. If you are interested in purchasing a Teen Grief Journal, visit nacg.org/teen-book. Bulk discounts are available.

In this photo: Lily K, one of the teen contributors to the journal, with her journal when she received her copy.

Children may be less familiar with how to name their internal experience of a loss, so they may not say, “I am sad and lonely because Aunt Jane died." They may feel that but not be sure what words to put to it. You can help them by giving them those terms—if they are crying after they hear of someone dying, you might offer, “Often when we cry, it is because we feel sad.”

How to Recognize a Child's Grief Children and adults grieve in some different ways and may need different help.

This National Parents’ Day, we celebrate those who have taught us the values and beliefs that shape us, and mourn those who are no longer with us. If you have a child in your life that has lost a parent or a parental figure, Alexander Funeral Homes has joined with Deaconess Hospice to offer a children’s grief workshop called the Good Grief Patrol.
We saw a need for someplace safe where children (with their parents/guardians) could go to learn how to maneuver through their unique grief journeys. Our next workshop is Saturday, August 12 at 10:30am on the second floor of the Linda E. White Hospice House, 611 Harriet St. To register for this workshop, please visit our Good Grief Patrol page or call one of these phone numbers: 812-423-4477 or 812-450-7021.
We have also partnered with the National Alliance for Children’s Grief and you can visit their website to learn how to help children cope with their grief. https://bit.ly/3QqIumR

Our next workshop is coming up! It will be Saturday, August 12 starting at 10:30am on the second floor of the Linda E White Hospice House, 611 Harriet St, Evansville.

As always, there will be great activities designed to help both the children and their parents learn to maneuver through their unique grief journeys. A couple of the fun things we'll be doing is constructing a wind sock and reading "Lost In The Clouds."

We will also have a special, one-of-a-kind Coloring Book for all the kids to take home with them! It is chock full of activities that are specially designed for the parents and kids to work on together.

So if you're interested in registering for this workshop, just contact us at (812) 450-7021, or either [email protected] or [email protected]. Looking forward to seeing you next month!!

We had an amazing workshop last Saturday! This was our biggest group ever and they were wonderful! As usual, the new ones were a little shy to begin with, but were interacting with all the other kids by the end of the workshop.
They made new Memory Boxes, decorating the outsides with all sorts of pictures and words reminding them of their loved one, and a few even had some things they made to put inside! We also read a book on using small things that remind you of your lost loved one to help start a conversation with others about what made that loved one so special. And, of course, we ended the workshop with our Memory Tree ... with kids and adults both posting messages to their loved ones using flowers and butterflies this time to enhance all the leaves that have been posted in past workshops.
Our next workshop will be on August 12 at 10:30am on the second floor of the Linda E White Hospice House. We already have some families registered for that one, so if you want to sign up, call Jill Brinkley or Tina Hale at 812-450-7021! We hope to see you there!

I have to apologize!! I thought I had already posted these pictures from the last workshop! My mind is just not firing on all cylinders these days!
Anyway, here are several pictures form that workshop, and I'll be posting the upcoming workshop on May 6 in the next week or so.
Enjoy the pictures!

We had a wonderful workshop this month ... one of our biggest and BEST! As soon we sort through the pictures, we'll post them here with more information about the workshop itself!

We can tell you that our next workshop will be May 6! Hope to see you there!

Saturday, Nov 5, was our last Good Grief Patrol workshop of the year, and it was wonderful! As you can see in the pictures, we had another excellent turnout and everybody had a great time! And, as usual, we received such positive and enthusiastic evaluations from the parents it made our hearts so full. 🥰

Our next workshop will be sometime around the end of January or the first of February. So make sure you check back here often and we hope we'll see you then!

Please make a note that the workshop will be held on November 5 from 10:30am-2:00pm in the Community Room on the second floor of the Linda E White Hospice House at 611 Harriet Street -- right next door to Deaconess Midtown. Please call either Jill (812-450-7028) or Tina (812-450-7037) or the front desk (812-450-7021) to register for the workshop.

We need everyone to register so we know how many people will be there in order to make sure we have enough materials for the activities we've scheduled and for the pizza to feed everyone. And this month, we're getting pizza from Turoni's!!

The New York Life Foundation in partnership with National Alliance for Children’s Grief (NACG) will host a one-day conference on November 1, 2022. The conference is designed to discuss the evolution of grief support for young people as well as illuminate the increased need for grief support services due to the societal impact of COVID-19, recent tragedies, race relations, and more.

The National Alliance for Children’s Grief will host their annual Fall Conference & Webcast on November 4, 2022. I was fortunate to be able to attend (virtually) their 2021 conference and it was wonderful! I learned so much about children & grief and was able to make some great connections with other groups around the country.

If you work with children in any way, and can take the time to attend this conference, I strongly encourage you to do that. You will not regret it!

Okay, we have made the decision about the next workshop! It will be November 5th and it will be on the second floor of the Linda E White Hospice House on the Deaconess Midtown campus. We'll have more information in the coming weeks, but you can go ahead and lock in that date!

We hope to see you then!

For those of you that are curious, our next Good Grief Patrol workshop will be either the first or second Saturday in November. As soon as we decide which one, we will post it here!

In the meantime, we have found a wonderful book to help children (and adults!) learn to cope with their grief. It's called "One Amazing Elephant" by Linda Oatman High. It's a heart-warming story about how a little girl and an elephant face the same devastating loss and "slowly realize they share the same powerful love."

For children, knowing that even animals can share the same grief could be especially reassuring. There has always been a kind of sympatico relationship between small children and animals … an unspoken understanding, if you will, of the other's needs and feelings. Dr. Dora Biro, of the University of Oxford, says, "From a developmental point of view, children take quite a long time to acquire a fully complete concept of death. It's not something that comes naturally to us -- it is something we acquire through experiences." Maybe becoming aware that, at the very least, some species in the animal kingdom exhibit symptoms of mourning that show "an evolved response to coming to terms with the idea of loss" can help children process that as well.

We'll be using this new book over the next several workshops to build on that understanding.

Grief doesn't have to be private, and it doesn't have to be about sadness. Watch how the friends of Seattle artist Briar Bates honored her by performing a joyful water ballet she directed in the weeks leading up to her death from cancer.
If you look closely, you'll see several kids of all ages taking part in this wonderful tribute! https://bit.ly/3IHixw2

Friends honor artist’s last wishes with water ballet in a Seattle kiddie pool Some prefer funerals, some prefer having their ashes scattered, but local artist Briar Bates chose a different way to commemorate her death — instructing her friends to perform a water ballet in the wading pool at Volunteer Park.

Parents, whether biological, adoptive or parental figures, deserve to be celebrated. Today we grieve with the children who are missing their parents. For resources to help the child in your life cope with the loss of a parent, visit the National Alliance for Children's Grief at https://bit.ly/3QqIumR

The Good Grief Patrol updated their phone number.

We had a really nice workshop last Saturday, and once again, we got so involved in the activities, we almost forgot to take pictures! We only managed to get a couple of shots of two of the activities, but you can still see the kids enjoying the day. 😍😅

We'll post the next event a few weeks ahead of time, and it will be either the end of October or the beginning of November. We hope to see you then! If you have any questions before then, just call Jill or Tina at 812-450-7021!

Losing a parent at any age is difficult. If a child in your life has lost their father or father figure, the National Alliance for Children's Grief has resources to help you both navigate your pain. Visit its Family Resource Portal for resources and toolkits and to find support in your area.
https://bit.ly/37t39oM

In the wake of the recent mass killings which have claimed so many children's lives, we need to recognize Children's Awareness Memorial Day and remember the children who are no longer with us and support the children who are grieving a loss. To help a grieving child in your life, go to https://bit.ly/3yxjVOy to find resources.

Military life is hard for children. Losing a parent in the service is a loss unique to the military community. TAPS provides resources and support for the children and families that have lost a loved one in the service. Visit https://bit.ly/3KH9Di0 to find resources and support for your family.

Tragedy Assistance Program For Survivors (TAPS) Is Here For You! TAPS provides comfort, care and resources to all those grieving the death of a military loved one.

https://www.funeralwise.com/grief/child-cope/

Supporting Children as They Grieve the Loss of a Friend or Family Member We are often at a loss when helping children grieve. This page offers useful tips and strategies for what to say and how to act.

The death of a family member, friend or other significant person is a lifelong loss for children. It is normal for children to miss the person who died and to experience grief that might come and go with different levels of intensity for some time after the death. It can be challenging to parents and caregivers to know what to do for, what to say to and how to help children who are obviously hurting. Here are a few suggestions about how to be helpful to a grieving child based on research and practice among children's grief support professionals and volunteers. It is important to note that grief reactions in children are varied, wide ranging and unique to each individual. The following suggestions will help guide you as you seek to be provide understanding and compassion to children living with grief.
https://childrengrieve.org/resources/about-childhood-grief

!!CHANGE OF DATE FOR GOOD GRIEF PATROL!!

For those of you that check this page out regularly, you’ll probably notice that we recently posted the date for the next Good Grief Patrol workshop. We had originally scheduled it for July 9th. But Jamie Dill replied that she and Owen wouldn’t be able to attend that weekend because that was the 3rd anniversary of Ollie’s death.

We normally would not change a workshop date for one person, but Jamie and Owen have become an integral part of our group and we decided that, since it was so early and because it had been just a random date we chose anyway, we are going to change the date to July 16th. Everything else will stay the same.

Thanks for understanding and we’re sorry for any inconvenience.

Social Workers are essential to the fabric of our community. Today, we thank all of the social workers that help the children of our community, especially in times of grief. If a child in your life is grieving, please sign them up for the next Good Grief Patrol, on July 16, 2022, and visit the National Alliance for Children's Grief and click on the Family Resource Portal (under Resources).
https://bit.ly/3srcDax

We had another wonderful workshop for the Good Grief Patrol! This month, we had our workshop in the Family Center at Alexander Memorial Park Cemetery, which proved to be an ideal location, because – thanks to the beautiful weather – we were able to take the kids on a sort of nature walk after lunch!
Our basic theme this month was “sharing,” so all of our activities revolved around that. Our morning activity involved decorating small wooden picture frames that everyone would then take home and use to display their favorite picture of their loved one. The afternoon activity involved writing messages on leaves and placing them on our new “Memory Tree.” And finally, as always, we all went outside to release our grief and send loving messages to our loved ones by blowing bubbles!
We also had a visit from Baxter, one of the Pet Therapy animals from Pet Partners. Kids and adults alike all loved Baxter! And we were also graced by a trio of music therapists which entertained us with some beautiful music all day!
Here are a few pictures of our wonderful day!

Hey everybody!! If you have already signed up for this weekend’s workshop, I need to let you know that it will NOT be at the Coliseum! We will be meeting at the Family Center at Alexander Memorial Park Cemetery at 2200 Mesker Park Drive. When you drive into the cemetery, bear to the right and go all the way to the bottom of the hill. The Family Center is in the little beige building on the right. 😊

We will see you there!!!