Campers deal with grief in creative ways

Dealing with the loss of a loved one can be difficult and almost unbearable, but area children are getting a little more help from the Hospice of Rockingham County.

Camp Good Grief at Camp Guilrock in Reidsville commenced Saturday with 15 participants from second through eighth grades. Students who had lost a loved one in the past two years were eligible to participate.

Vicki Lumpkin, a chaplain and bereavement coordinator for the hospice, said children deal with the same type of grief as adults, but don’t have the experience to express it adequately.

“Children don’t have the experiential background or the conceptual and verbal knowledge to process it, so they experience profound loss and a profound disruption in their sense of well-being,” she said. “It’s tough for kids, because most of their peers haven’t experienced anything like this, so it can be very isolating. We just want to let them know what they are going through is acceptable and they’re not going through it alone.”

Saturday’s camp consisted of healing circles, the construction of a memory card to memorialize their loved ones and recreation time outside. They also met with therapy donkeys, played games and spent one-on-one time with their “buddies,” who were school psychologists and volunteers.

Diane Zihal, a psychologist and crisis coordinator for Rockingham County Schools, said there’s a real need for children to have a safe place to release some of their feelings.

“There is a wide range of reactions you get from children dealing with grief,” she said. “Some will be sobbing, some will be angry and others will just want to play and not talk about it. These are all okay. They need to know there are other kids out there going through the same things and having some of the same experiences.”

Zihal said she hopes the participants got a chance to make a connection with counselors and the psychologists they spent time with during the camp so they can do some follow-up and have future contact. She said she wanted to make sure the children knew someone supports them.

In addition to hospice and school volunteers, Marsha McQueen, chaplain of Morehead Memorial Hospital, and Patricia Wright from Annie Penn Hospital were there to help the campers cope with their missing loved ones. Zihal said parents were even given time at the end to meet with staff for information, tips and questions.

Hospice Executive Director Judith Wilsey said this camp is something they want to continue in future years.

“We’re hoping we can grow this into a larger program in other communities where hospice can undertake grief work with children,” she said. “We just want to make sure we support the children of Rockingham County.”

For additional information on Camp Good Grief and other services offered by the Hospice of Rockingham County, visit www.hospiceofrockinghamcounty.com.