Hospice offering grief support camps for children

The Hospice of the Western Reserve is continuing to expand its grief support camps this summer with a variety of natural outdoor settings throughout Northeast Ohio to help children and adolescents who are grieving and or memorializing a loved one.

Camps are planned and designed to help share feelings and ask questions in safe and supportive environments with trained grief support professionals experienced in working with children and teens. Two family days, suitable for children and adults, have also been planned, including a return to Mentor Headlands Beach.

“Last year we included the beach, decided to experiment with it, and it was really successful so we decided to include it again,” said Diane Snyder Cowan, director of the bereavement centers of Hospice of the Western Reserve. “We’ve always had family events. The beach is an opportunity for the entire family to be there. The whole point is to be together with others grieving, not alone.

“We’ll have scavenger hunts, build sand mandalas and enjoy other creative and expressive activities. The beach, in addition to the success last year, was selected again for people who could repeat at all the camps. It’s another beautiful setting and the water in very conducive to healing.”

Originally held as a oneday camp at Ursuline College in Pepper Pike, Hospice chose to expand the grief camp to multiple outdoor locations where participants could embrace nature and corresponding activities. “We’ve broadened out, and really wanted to get out to a campsite,” Cowan said. “It’s more calming and restorative. They also provide opportunities for campers, who come in not knowing one another but are dealing with similar areas of grief, to identify and express their feelings. Being outdoors is a coping measure and it instills a feeling that it’s okay to have fun and talk about (the grief).

“A lot of children are intermittent grievers —it comes in spurts,” she said. “We can learn a lot from kids, they’re not always feeling overwhelmed by the grief, and constructive activities and projects can facilitate the management of grief.”

Some of the camps locations are:

• “Together We Can” (ages 6 to 13)

June 6-8, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Red Oak Camp, 9057 Kirtland-Chardon Road in Kirtland.

Planned activities such as commemorative crafts, drum circles and storytelling encourage memories, coping skills and the expression of feelings. Register by May 8. Pickup and drop off times will be provided. Call 216486-6838 for more details.

• “Riding Through Grief: The Healing Power of Horses” (ages 8-12)

June 19-23, 9 a.m. to noon at Fieldstone Farm Therapeutic Riding Center, 16497 Snyder Road in Bainbridge Township.

The gentle, nurturing feedback of therapy horses in a tranquil 45-acre farm environment has a healing effect on children coping with loss. Children interact with therapy horses through a series of unmounted activities. Register by May 28. • “At the Park” (all ages) Saturday, July 22, 10 a.m. to noon, Cleveland Metroparks, Willow Bend Picnic Area, Brook Park

Creating art from nature in a beautiful wooded setting allows participants to know they are not alone in their thoughts, feelings and experiences while they tell their stories and memorialize their loved ones. Register by July 15. • “At the Beach” (all ages) Saturday, July 29, 3 to 5 p.m. at the Mentor Headlands, 9601 Headlands Road in Mentor

The waves and the sand provide a soothing natural setting for children and adults of all ages as participants engage in a scavenger hunt, make rain sticks and interact with others, learning new ways to manage their grief. Register by July 22. Cowan said camps are offered at a nominal cost and are made possible through the support of the Conway Family Foundation, Christ Child Society of the Western Reserve, CRL David Foundation, the Goldner Family and many individual donors.

“They are open to anyone in the community who has experienced a loss due to death,” she said. “They can have a significant impact on a child. Our camp at Fieldstone has been wildly successful. And their staff does a tremendous job, we collaborate with them well. It’s touching to see the kids supporting each other at all the camps, holding each other up, emotionally. It’s quite moving.

“They really do develop bonds, coping skills, while remembering their loved ones. Sometimes camp is the only thing, the only right place for you and addressing a need. We work in as many venues as we can — we change as they meet developmental milestones. We want to be able to support grief reactions and we are constantly evaluating because everyone has different emotional triggers.”

The camps have also experienced repeat volunteers in addition to repeat participants.

Team Leader for Counseling Services Karen Hatfield recognizes the development the camps produce, adding it’s a privilege to watch the participants “transform” through new relationships with each other and the counselors.

“We understand it’s normal to be angry, it’s okay to cry,” she said. “The camps provide a common ground. It’s normalizing and validating to be with others seeking similar healing. Grief doesn’t go away but it can be managed and incorporated into celebrating the individual’s life. We also learn so much about their stories and their resilience. It’s completely hopeful.”

Visit www.hospicewr. org/camps for more information.

SUBMITTED Casting written expressions of memory on rice paper across a pond is one of several art-related and therapeutic activities participants can engage in through Hospice of the Western Reserve’s grief support camps.