Good Grief Offers Free Programs to Newark’s Grieving Families

Good Grief’s In Community program is now enrolling families and volunteers in our Newark location. In Community is a free, easily accessible peer support program for grieving children and families.

Isolation and loneliness are some of the most frequently experienced effects of grief and loss, but through In Community, grieving kids and adults get to be with others who truly understand their experience. “Our girls were heartbroken. Although they kept it together and remained Straight-A students after the death of their dad, I saw other changes in them.” said Tracy, a mom participant “My daughter, Ayana wouldn’t talk about what happened, but I saw her pain and grief in her drawings.”

Good Grief’s In Community program meets once a week for 9 weeks and is designed for children 6-18-years-old who have experienced the death of someone significant in their lives. Children participate in age-specific peer support groups, while their guardians receive peer support and learn resilient parenting techniques.

Through a variety of weekly activities, In Community equips children and families with the support and tools needed to face their grief and develop healthy coping strategies that promote resilience and hope. The program creates a caring environment for children and families during a very difficult and uncertain time.

Tracy learned about Good Grief’s In Community through her daughters’ schools. She enrolled her family hoping it would help her kids open up about their experience and their grief. “I signed up for my girls, but on the first night I heard another widow speak- I felt like I was looking into a reflection. She was around my age, had two daughters, and I saw my heartbreak in her. I no longer felt alone. Good Grief turned out to be helpful for me as well as my daughters.” Tracy’s daughter, Ayana, nodded and chimed in “I feel better when I come to Good Grief.” Ayana then added, laughing, “I’ve learned to talk about my feelings. It’s actually my favorite part.”

Thanks to generous funding from The New York Life Foundation, In Community is free for families, and they can enroll as many times as they need the program. Our upcoming cycle is in partnership with KIPP Rise Academy and will begin in April 2019 on Tuesday evenings. To learn more about In Community, volunteer opportunities, or potential partnerships, please contact Whitney Allen: whitney@good-grief.org

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Good Grief is respected as a national leader in delivering grief services to children and their families.  It is the leading provider of these services in New Jersey serving over 1,000 children since its founding in 2004.  Good Grief is a registered 501(c) (3) tax-exempt non-profit organization whose mission is to provide unlimited free support to children, teens and families after the death of a parent or sibling.  Servicing more than 150 communities, we operate programs in Morristown, Princeton, Jersey City, and Newark. For more information about Good Grief, please visit our web site www.good-grief.org.