Children’s Grief Recovery Program
When Pam was eight years old she lost her mother to cancer, just eight months after she gave birth to Pam’s baby sister. Her father couldn’t cope, so the girls went to live with their paternal grandparents. Pam felt that she had lost both parents.
Jason, aged seven, watched his older brother die slowly and painfully from brain cancer. His parent’s separated many times throughout the cancer’s progression but had reconciled at the time of his brother’s death. But soon after, Jason’s father died in a boating accident.
For young children, the death of loved ones can have devastating repercussions. Children between 7 and 12 years old do not have the emotional skills to deal with grief. Research shows that profound early loss makes the young vulnerable to depressive disorders and other mental illnesses.
When our social workers tracked an increase in the number of Emergency visits at our hospital due to suicidal tendencies and depression in youth and unresolved grief, they knew they had to do something.
After an extensive literature review, a community needs assessment, and research, Eagle Ridge Hospital launched BC’s first Children’s Grief Recovery Program in 1993. The eight-week program teaches children the skills to cope with death and change so that they can get back on the road to a productive and happy life.
The Eagle Ridge program has helped hundreds of children from the Tri-Cities area, Burnaby, New Westminster and Maple Ridge. What’s more, many BC communities have adopted the approach.
Like Pam and Jason, most of the children who attend the program face traumatic loss — a compounded tragedy such as the death of a father, the sole income earner, and the ensuing loss of the family home. The program reduces children’s isolation and alienation, helps them identify and express their emotions, teaches coping skills, addresses their fears, and recognizes their personal and family strengths. Through play and art therapy in a safe and upbeat environment, children learn to express themselves and interact with their peers who are experiencing similar loss.
Donate
The program runs entirely on donations from individuals and organizations. The Eagle Ridge Hospital Foundation supports the Children’s Grief Recovery Program and invites the community to make donations online, or over the phone at 604.469.3128.
