January 2001
The Director - Features
The Many Faces of Grief
The moving, powerful creations of children should remind us that even the youngest among us grieve, too
Not all children have a language for pain. Sometimes children cannot verbalize what they are feeling and need a more concrete way to let others know what is going on inside of them. Fernside: A Center for Grieving Children was founded in 1986 to help children express their feelings after the death of a loved one.
Fernside is a nonprofit, nondenominational organization that serves children (ages 4 - 18) who have experienced the death of a parent or sibling. It offers peer support for hundreds of children and their parents/guardians every year.
The Many Faces of Grief discusses Fernside and how it provides children with a way to express their feelings through the use of puppets, musical instruments and arts and crafts. The article includes several pictures showcasing the powerful creations from the children of Fernside.
The article was written by Christi Kettman, the outreach coordinator at Fernside.
