A grant has been applied for that will fund the expansion of the Children’s Grief and Loss Support Program from serving 70 children per year currently from school referrals to serving 152 per year. The Children’s Grief and Loss Support Program was established as a new outreach program of Hospice of McDowell County in May, 2006 when a Child Grief Support room was set up with youth furniture and educational tools in the new Center of Hope building. The program has been offered to the community at no charge and at a time when local mental health systems are failing and inadequate and when school counselors are overwhelmed by the needs of their students and their families.

Children grieve over family deaths, divorce, or painful transition in their family just as profoundly as adults, although in different ways. It is crucial that they are given permission to express their grief in appropriate ways and an opportunity for emotional healing. There is no other comprehensive grief support program for children and youth in the county. The grant will allow hospice to purchase resource materials and equipment for use in the curriculum activities with the children and to supplement the director’s salary to allow time to achieve this expansion.

The program has seen outstanding success and reception, largely due to partnering with school counselors, and in the first year 16 children were served from hospice families plus 14 children from the community. In the first 21 months 20 children were served from hospice families and 51 from the community. Projections from 8 school counselors surveyed are that they expect to refer 152 children to the program in the school year August 2008 to July 2009 with 117 from Elementary grades 1—6 and 35 Teens grades 7—12. These numbers are more than double the 70 children served in the schools during the last school year.

Grief support is provided typically for the death of a close relative, for terminal illness of a close relative, terminal illness/death of schoolmates or staff, and divorce of parents. Support is also needed for accidental death of schoolmates or staff, incarceration of a parent or close relative, and for suicide by schoolmates or staff.