Camp For Bereaved Children Holding Free Session

DANBURY — Grieving is hard work for adults. But grieving is especially difficult for children who grieve differently than adults.

A grieving child may feel sad, scared, angry, confused, or somehow responsible for the death of a loved one, depending on their developmental stage. They may regress, withdraw, or act out their distress at home or in school.

Professional facilitators who work with grieving children at The Healing Hearts Center for Grieving Children & Families (a program of Regional Hospice) realize the importance of symbolic play, rituals, feelings, expression, and physical activity to help children cope, accept the reality of their loss, and begin to heal.

For the first time this summer, Healing Hearts is offering a weeklong camp for bereaved children ages 5–12. The camp will be held Monday, July 10, to Friday, July 14, from 9 am to noon, at The Healing Hearts Center, 73 Stadley Rough Road.

Thanks to generous funding provided by Union Savings Bank, there is no cost to participate.

While each day’s activities will include remembrance and commemorative rituals related to the loved one each child has lost, the main focus will be on fun and camaraderie as a respite from the grieving process. Age-appropriate activities will include: sports, crafts, a scavenger hunt, music, face-painting, making tie-dye T-shirts, and a daily snack.

Camp days will begin with an ice-breaker and end with a closing circle, where each child’s loved one will be acknowledged and honored. A highlight of the week will be a talent show on Friday (with family-members invited), planting of a memorial tree, group photos, and a pizza party.

The camp will be run by master’s-level grief support facilitators and volunteers from Healing Hearts. For more information or to register, call Healing Hearts at 792-4422.