Supporting Kidds Healing Pathways Program to begin in Dover Feb. 9

Supporting Kidds, a subsidiary of Children and Families First, announced the statewide expansion of the Healing Pathways Program. Supporting Kidds provides a compassionate pathway to healing for grieving children and their families, and empowers the community to support them in the grieving process.

The Sussex County group will meet from 6:30 to 8 p.m., Tuesdays, March 28 to May 3, at Children & Families First in Georgetown. The Kent County group will meet from 6:30 to 8 p.m., Thursdays, Feb. 9 to March 16, in Dover. The New Castle group will run from 6:30 to 8 p.m., Wednesdays March 29 to May 3 at Supporting Kidds in Hockessin. In order to better reach the metropolitan community, Supporting Kidds will offer a Wilmington group starting Wednesdays, July 12 to Aug. 16; times and location are to be announced.

Healing Pathways is a six-week program designed to help children, teens and adults understand death and the grief process. Families meet once a week for 90-minute sessions, to learn positive coping tools and develop a sense of community support through discussion, art, movement and activities. The programs are led by trained volunteers. Children are grouped by age with approximately five to seven other children and two adult facilitators.

Each group follows a curriculum that has been designed specifically for the children's developmental level. During the children's groups, parents and guardians meet and are provided with emotional support and education on how to help their grieving children. "Supporting Kidds offers an outlet for children to be around other kids that have suffered a loss similar to their own. This unique setting makes children feel safe and teaches them that there is support and people who truly care. My daughter named it her 'special place,' and she has gained confidence and is not ashamed to share her feelings. Coming here was one of the best decisions I could have made," said a mother of a 4-year-old girl.

The program expansion has been funded in part by the Carl M. Freeman Foundation. Having received an overwhelming number of requests for grief counseling statewide, organizers found that having one program location was simply not enough to meet the growing need of bereaved families. In 2016, a community commitment was made to offer grief services statewide by the end of 2017. 

Founded in 1989 as a volunteer organization, Supporting Kidds was one of the first children's grief centers in the country and continues to be the only organization in Delaware solely dedicated to children's bereavement. The organization has counseled over 4,200 grieving children, provided grief education workshops to 5,000 community members, developed and distributed 1,500 survival kits to schools and responded to over 1,300 requests for emergency telephone support.

For more information, go to www.supportingkidds.org. To sign up for Healing Pathways, contact Cara.Duncan@cffde.org or 302-235-5544.