NA KEIKI O EMALIA

The purpose of Nā Keiki O Emalia’s groups is to:

Help children and teens to know they are not alone in their grief.

Provide comfort for children by establishing a place where they can talk about their experience, the person who died, their fears, and their concerns.

Honor a child’s inner experience; children’s grief is not always manifest and may be overlooked as parents and care providers resume their everyday routines and responsibilities.

Give children and teens the opportunity to process their grief and experience happy moments as they form new friendships and bond with peers who have suffered from losing a loved one.

Facilitate the formation of ongoing friendships among youngsters.

Help parents meet the emotional challenges of their grieving children and teens in healthy ways.

Help parents with children of similar ages learn healthy parenting tools for their grieving children at their child’s developmental stage.

Help parents distinguish between normal behavior for their child’s age and what behaviors might point to a youngster’s distress.

Provide names of therapists or other agencies if parents request such a resource.

Facilitate healing for the entire family: help participants move towards acceptance and to regain a sense of joy and laughter.