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The Bereavement Coalition of Central Virginia Coordinates This Year’s Effort for Grief’s Journey: the Month of the Grieving Child 2008 will be the fourth year that April will be recognized as the Month of the Grieving Child in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The statistics continue to show rising numbers of children who live in single-parent households, receive Social Security Survivor benefits, or live in foster care placements, group homes, or with relatives other than their parents. In recognition of the child’s experience of loss, grief and healing, we hope you will join the effort to raise awareness of the resources available, the healing power of healthy grief, and how children express themselves throughout this journey. The following are planned activities that the Central Virginia Bereavement Coalition is or has been involved with to increase awareness of the needs of grieving children © A showing of Slash Coleman’s one-man play, “The Neon Man And Me: A Spiritual Rock n’ Roll Comedy about Best Friends” © Hosting of the HFA’s annual Living with Grief Teleconference, focusing on Children and Adolescent Grief © A new and improved website © Working with Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens for “Children’s Horticulture Therapy” © We will work with the Virginia Association for Hospices to have the Governor sign the proclamation, reflecting updated statistical information © We are reaching out to the Kinship Care Program to promote this month. © We will be working to have one of the local television stations host a call-in night during the evening news for people who have questions about children’s grief © In the past we have worked with the Girl Scouts of America to create a patch to increase empathy around loss and grief, and that patch is still in existence. © In the past, we have also worked with our local public broadcasting studio to create a 30-second PSA, and a half-hour show (copies of both can be made available). We hope you may find some of these ideas helpful in imagining what you can do on a local level to raise awareness. Some other ideas may include the local libraries highlighting good books about loss and healing; hosting a festival for children; if you have a children’s camp, perhaps you could have a children’s weekend or a one-day retreat during April; highlighting children’s grief in the April edition of your newsletter. You may find funding to host or create new programs through your program, Virginia Arts Council, churches and even more unusual sources such as HUD or ‘No Child Left Behind’ After School Program funds. In the past, we have found funding through local funeral homes, Wal-Mart and Target community programs, and local grant programs. Consider starting now! Some helpful links to children’s programs: http://www.healingthespirit.org/ http://www.comfortzonecamp.org/ http://www.counselingstlouis.net/index.html Respectfully Submitted: Karen Gill, LCSW |