Having to deal with losing someone you love is distressing. This is especially true for young children who have to experience an upsetting event such as death.
To help young children cope up with death, the St. Anthony’s Hospice Bereavement Camp was organized. It’s an annual event which is free for all kids and teens. It aims to understand their feelings on losing a love one and teach them skills on coping that’s just appropriate for their age group.
Dana Ford, a mother of two and also a hospice nurse, felt the need to ask her children to attend camp after seeing how devastated the youngsters were when their grandmas died two months apart.
Jennifer Phillips, the camp’s coordinator and social worker said this about the group:
“We do things so that they can remember the person (who died) such as pillows and coping bags. Camp participants draw favorite memories on the pillows. They also make memory boxes. The campers decorate the boxes and fill them with items, including a jar, containing written memories of the person who died.”
See how effective this bereavement camp is by reading the full version of the news article here.