THE CENTER FOR GRIEVING CHILDREN
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Mission Statement
The Center for Grieving Children provides a safe space, loving peer support, outreach, and education to grieving children, teens, families and the community throughout southern Maine and beyond.
About This Cause
With locations in Portland and Sanford Maine, and one night of service online, the Center for Grieving Children provides a safe space, loving peer support, outreach, and education to grieving children, teens, families and the community to lessen the potential negative outcomes that loss and trauma can have on grieving children throughout childhood and into adulthood. The Center for Grieving Children was founded in 1987 by Portland, Maine resident Bill Hemmens, following the death of his sister. In trying to find help and support for his niece Erin, Bill recognized that children need peers and caring adults to support them through their grief, because death profoundly affects every aspect of their lives. Three types of peer support programming are offered for children and families experience grief. All services are free of charge for as long as needed. Bereavement peer support groups are broken out age-appropriately for children 3-18 and for their parents/caregivers, young adults 19-30, and people who have lost a partner or spouse. Tender Living Care (TLC) helps children and families coping with serious illness of a family member. Intercultural Peer Support serves refugee and immigrant elementary and middle school-aged children who have resettled in Portland, in partnership with Portland Public Schools. Since their beginning, the Center has grown from serving four families, with twelve volunteers, to becoming a trusted community resource throughout York and Cumberland County, as well as a national leader in the field of children’s grief support. The Center is the ONLY one of its kind in southern Maine providing year-round peer support in a family model, as studies show that the better parents cope, the more successful children are. The Center relies on financial contributions from individuals, businesses, foundations, United Way, and special events, and is a registered 501(c) 3 organization.