Here’s a sad statistic: 50% of youth under the age of 21 in an urban inner city were found to experience the sudden unexpected death of a close relative or friend.
Last Friday, April 3, Robin Goodman, Ph.D., was the guest speaker at the Women’s Issues Committee of the New York City Chapter of the Employee Assistance Professionals Association. When Lynda Johnson, my Co-Chair of the Committee, first heard about the work Robin does at A Caring Hand last fall, she was intent on getting Robin on our schedule of presenters. Glad that we did. But also sad that there is such a need for these services. The statistic above combined with the latest news about parents shooting their children or a brother beheading his sister are troubling.
Robin is the Director of A Caring Hand, The Billy Esposito Foundation Bereavement Center. She speaks to a wide range of audiences on the services that can help children and their families through their grief journeys. Parents often don’t know what to tell their children after a husband, sister, or other loved one dies.
During her presentation, Robin shared with us valuable information about how children understand death and their reactions to grief. She also shared ways to create a framework to foster positive emotional health that can last a lifetime.
Often, a child is not able to talk about their grief. Robin led those in attendance through a short guided visualization then invited us to use crayons, colored pencils, or water colors to draw who or what we saw.
This was a very powerful experience for me; one that brought back memories of a brother who died when I was just five-years-old. After he died, I would ask my mother, “Where’s Johnny?” She would tell me that he was, ”with Jesus,” or “up in Mary’s room behind the clock.” Robin stressed the need to be direct with children and explain the loss in terms that children can understand.
A Caring Hand offers a “Child and Family Bereavement Group” free of charge.
For further information, call A Caring Hand at 212-229-2273 or email RobinGoodman@acaringhand.org
