| SPECIAL EVENT |
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| WHAT: |
Please join us for the George Mark Children's House
Children's Remembrance Day
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| WHEN: |
Sunday, December 9th
4:30 – 7:00 PM |
| WHERE: |
George Mark Children's House
2121 George Mark Lane
San Leandro, CA 94578
Direction to the House >> |
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4:30 PM – Arrive, light snacks, refreshments, and activities
6:00 PM – Children’s Remembrance Day Service in the Stephen Douglas Sanctuary
7:00 PM – Worldwide Candle Lighting
We will light candles at 7:00pm and join other bereaved families and friends around the globe to honor and remember children who have died.
Please RSVP by December 4th to José Figueroa, Spiritual Care Coordinator
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Each year in the United States, approximately 82,000 children die and 500,000 children cope with life-threatening conditions. This means that there are over one million parents facing the possibility that their child may die, and and over 150,000 experiencing the overwhelming grief surrounding their loss. Additionally, unknown numbers of siblings, relatives, friends, and caregivers must cope with what has become unthinkable in our culture – the death of a child.
The death of a child is one of the most difficult losses to bear. Indeed, parents never “get over” the death of their child. The grieving process is prolonged. They frequently experience feelings of guilt and ask common questions like: “Did I make the right decisions for my child? Did I genetically ‘infect’ my child? Did my mistakes that I made earlier in my life ‘cause’ this death?”
There are also great stresses on the marriage, as partners frequently have differing styles of experience and expressing grief.
For siblings, the loss of a brother or sister is exacerbated by changes in their parents’ ability to care for them and by fears of their own death. Even into adulthood, surviving siblings report that the death of their brother or sister continues to have a profound and lasting impact on their lives.
By helping parents and siblings address the pain, feel understood and not judged, negotiate painful events, and eventually perhaps discover some meaning in the loss, we can help them find normalcy – not life as it was or would have been, but a new balance in their lives.
 Who Benefits from Bereavement Care.
Parents, ill children, siblings, extended family, friends and schoolmates, staff, and volunteers all benefited from the bereavement services we offer. The main focus of the program is on supporting the family from the time of their child’s diagnosis through death.
While families from all backgrounds will choose to come to GMCH, our experience indicates that poor or uninsured families will find our resources the most necessary and welcome.
How Bereavement Care is provided.
Our staff’s ability to be empathetic and patient listeners is fundamental to helping families through the grief process. Indeed, the greatest gift we give to families is our human presence.
Families who are able to give their dying child and siblings developmentally appropriate information and emotional support fare better in the bereavement process. Our goal before death is to help the family stay connected to the child and to facilitate communication among all members of the family. Through support groups, one-on-one conversations, activities, and play and art therapy, we help parents and siblings express their feelings in healthy ways.
We help families adjust to their loss. Our Child Life Specialist spends time with the child, siblings, and families to help develop memories – memory boxes, hand and footprints, photo albums, written recollections, and mementoes of the child’s life. Each activity helps celebrate the unique gifts that is their child.
Establishing venues for sharing feelings with others is paramount to supporting families in bereavement. Our Spiritual Care Coordinator facilitates ongoing, monthly support groups for families, as to be structured to be a nonjudgmental environment of peers. Families need emotional support, information on topics like gender differences in bereavement, coping with stress management, parenting surviving children while grieving, and managing special holidays.
Bereavement Groups
Our on going bereavement group meets on an evening each month. Bereavement groups allow those who have lost a child to share their struggles with others experiencing a similar loss. Groups allow participants to hear what others have been through and can help confirm the normalcy of feelings often experienced by those who have suffered loss. In our meetings no one is required to talk. We understand the value of just attending and being able to simply listen; as often people are at different stages with grief. Those who have had a recent loss can learn from those who have been struggling with their loss long-term. Parents find comfort in knowing they are not alone.
Home Visits
Our Spiritual Care Coordinator also meets with families in their homes. Please contact José Figueroa, Spiritual Care Coordinator, for more information.
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