Kaweah Health Hospice hosts kids camp focused on grief

Wednesday, October 19, 2022
Kaweah Health Hospice hosts kids camp focused on grief
Kaweah Health Hospice is taking action to provide hope and healing to children who've lost a loved one.

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Kaweah Health Hospice is taking action to provide hope and healing to children who've lost a loved one.



The annual Good Grief Camp is being held on Saturday.



"You're never going to stop having grief because you're never going to stop having love," explained James Susee, bereavement coordinator. "As long as you love that person, you're going to have some sadness, but you'll process through it, you'll grow through it and you'll learn from it moving forward."



For children, losing someone important to them is hard and complex.



Susee added that it's also usually the first time they've felt a strong emotion.



"How do you process that? Well, our society is not great at helping with that. Sometimes, parents don't even know how to help with that," he said.



That's where Good Grief Camp comes in! Children will go through workshops to explore grief in a healthy way and embrace healing.



One of the activities is called "Blasting your emotions."



"They draw out their emotions on the sidewalk, for instance, they'll draw a sad face. They'll write the name of their loved one. They'll say 'I miss you.' They write all of that out, and then they get water balloons and they blast those," Sussee explained.


This exercise allows kids to express their sadness while having fun. According to Sussee, this teaches them how you can feel happy and sad at the same time.



It is also teaching kids that it's okay to cry, as they'll see when the water balloon washes away their sad face.



"If they can learn that when they're a child, it's only going to help them through the rest of their life," Sussee said.



Good Grief Camp is free. It's set for Saturday from 8:30 to 2 p.m. at Visalia Nazarene Church.



Children 5 to 12 years old can attend, along with their parents.



Pre-registration is encouraged, but day-of sign-ups will be available.



More information can be found here, or by calling (559) 733-0642.

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