WHAT CAN YOU
DO to help a child or teenager who has experienced the death of
someone very close – a parent or other primary caregiver,
a sister, or a brother?
You can help
that youngster find a safe place in which to grieve in the company
of other kids who know what it’s like, because they’re
grieving, too.
Children’s
Friend has created that safe place. It’s called, “The
Carriage House.” The Carriage House is a grief support center
for kids from 3 to 18 years old and their families. It’s the only program of its kind in central Massachusetts.
At
The Carriage House, we believe
How
are participants assigned to groups?
Children and teens enter age-appropriate groups after all their
registration forms have been completed, as spaces become available.
When
do groups meet?
The peer support groups at the Carriage House meet every other week from September to June. Sessions run for an hour and a half, except for groups of
very young children, which generally last an hour and a quarter.
Staff and volunteer facilitators, all of whom have been through
intensive training in grief support for young people, lead the
groups. While the children and teens are in their peer groups
in The Carriage House, the grownups in their lives are offered
adult grief support in our administration building across the
street.
Is
there any charge?
There is no charge for any family’s participation in The
Carriage House, but everyone is invited to make a tax deductible
contribution to Children’s Friend to support the work of
this unique central Massachusetts program.
Volunteer
Opportunities
Volunteer facilitator training is usually provided twice a year. For information about training, please call Dr. Johanna Sagarin, the Carriage House Director, or Karen Ludington, at (508)753-5425.
Helping kids who have experienced the death of someone close to them is a wonderful and satisfying way to make a difference. Our volunteer peer group facilitators make a big commitment – 20 to 24 hours of training, three and a half hours of their time every other week during the school year for at least a year, plus the gifts of their life experiences, their minds, and their hearts.
Information
and Registration
If you would like to find out more or register a child for The
Carriage House, please call Children’s Friend at 508-753-5425,
and ask for Dr. Johanna Sagarin or Karen Ludington. The first
step in joining The Carriage House is a telephone intake, during
which basic information about the family is collected. Each family
is then scheduled for an orientation session at The Carriage House,
so everyone can learn what it would be like to participate. If
a family is interested in joining, additional paperwork has to
be completed. Families are then assigned to groups as space becomes
available.
Web
resources for Children’s Grief and Loss
For additional resources and information, we’ve compiled
a list of web links for children’s
grief and loss.
www.parmenter.org
– Quicklinks Heartplay and Wayside Hospice
www.jordanhospital.org
– Cranberry Hospice
www.goodgriefprogram.org
– The Circle
www.childrensroom.org
– The Children’s Room
www.garden-cgc.org –
The Garden
www.southshorehospital.org
– Home Health Care: Hospice of the South Shore

