Grief Support:
"When we walk to the edge of all the light we have and take the step into the darkness of the unknown, we must believe one of two things will happen - there will be something solid for us to stand on, or we will be taught how to fly." - Patrick Overton

Like nature, grief is a process, a transition.  It weaves in and out; it ebbs and flows.  It can be frightening, lonely, painful and overwhelming.  The Bereavement Program and community Grief Center of Hospice of the Valley (HOV) offer help in sorting out the roller coaster of emotions and questions that present themselves when individuals are grieving.
HOV features Children’s Grief Support Program in Grief is My Shadow
In Grief is My Shadow, we follow the transformative process of nine-year-old Jeff as he and his family deal with the physical, psychological and emotional ramifications of his brother’s death. We follow his own personal grief journey through the use of creative and expressive arts and what he has learned over the past three years, as Jeff so openly shares, “Grief is like my shadow, sometimes it’s big, sometimes it’s small, but it is always with you.”

Hospice of the Valley’s Children’s Grief Support Program video Grief is My Shadow was produced by Frieda C. Fox Foundation

Services Available:

Download Grief Support brochure (pdf)

Grief Support is offered to individuals by trained professionals and volunteers specializing in grief and loss.  HOV assigns a trained volunteer to support the patient's grieving family and loved ones for 13 months following the death of the patient.

Grief Support Groups offer the opportunity to talk about loss or simply listen as others share their experience of going through the grieving process.  Groups are regularly offered for spousal loss, child loss, adult parent loss and grieving children ages 4-18.  Additional groups are offered as needed.

Community Education Services provide information on grief and support to groups and organizations.  HOV offers specialized grief seminars for professionals, interested community members and those currently grieving.

Community Grief Center offers support to members of the community who have experienced the loss of someone who has not received HOV care.  A sliding scale fee is offered for short-term individual support and a flat nominal fee for group support.

Annual Events:
Two memorial services are held annually, in late spring and during the holiday season.  A Children's Bereavement Camp is held every summer in the Santa Cruz mountains in collaboration with other community grief programs.

 

 
 
Copyright Hospice of the Valley 2010