The Daprile family has benefitted from Akron Children’s palliative care services. Now more families in the Mahoning Valley will have access to the program.
Akron Children’s will begin offering its Good Mourning grief support group in Boardman as a result of a $15,000 grant from the New York Life Foundation in partnership with The National Alliance of Grieving Children.
The Good Mourning support group is designed to help children and their parents understand and deal with feelings of grief following the death of a loved one.
During the meetings, facilitators lead age-appropriate activities and encourage discussions about how to move through the stages of grief. They help children and parents understand loss, explore their feelings and reactions to grief, find ways to honor the memory of their loved one and gain self-confidence.
The free sessions are led by trained staff members and volunteers from Akron Children’s Haslinger Family Pediatric Palliative Care Center. Groups are divided by age: 5-8, 9-12, and teens. Meetings for parents are held at the same time.
The first 6-week session will begin Oct. 12 and run through Nov. 16. The group will meet 6:30-8 p.m. at Akron Children’s Beeghly campus in the community room in Building C. To register, call 330-543-3343.
The grant was made possible by Grief Reach, a joint program between the New York Life Foundation and The National Alliance of Grieving Children. It supports grief providers’ efforts to broaden their services to reach diverse and disadvantaged youth across the country.
“We are honored to support the families of the Mahoning Valley through their grief process,” said Maria Collins, vice president, New York Life Foundation. “We hope the program helps them find a measure of peace and lets them know that they are not alone.”
Pediatric Palliative Care
The Good Mourning Grief Support Series is a program of Akron Children’s Haslinger Family Pediatric Palliative Care Center.
Founded by Dr. Sarah Friebert in 2002, Akron Children’s palliative care program works with children and their families to enhance quality of life and minimize suffering for patients with serious illnesses. In addition to medical care, palliative care provides support for psychological, emotional, social, spiritual and educational issues that may contribute to suffering or interfere with healing.
Akron Children’s palliative care program is funded almost solely through donor support. Ongoing generosity from the community will help the program continue to grow and expand.
For more information, visit akronchildrens.org/palliativecare.
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