I am writing to share with you my passion for helping grieving school-aged youth and their families and my mission to provide grief support in local schools. Why do we need grief support in our schools? Children feel the effects of unemployment, divorce, multiple deployments, disability, home foreclosures, life-threatening illnesses, incarceration and homelessness. Grief impacts a child’s ability to concentrate at school and their sense of well being causing them to be clingy, depressed and in some cases, suicidal. It also robs them of the opportunity to succeed. How can a child study for a test or set goals when they are emotionally distraught and don't know what to do with their grief?
I almost lost my only child due to suicide due to unresolved grief, but an astute teacher knew something was wrong. I am now a Board Certified Healthcare Chaplain who started Partners Of Hope, a non-profit charitable organization that will offer an 8-week grief education class and peer grief support groups in Pontiac schools. Our goal is to heal grief and make room for hope and success. We plan to start our pilot in October 2012 and are in need of donations to hire our first chaplain.
Won't you please help? The need is great. Together, we can heal and change lives.
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