About Us...
Circle of Life is a unique program that benefits children and families affected by loss. There is only one goal - to heal.
Vision
“Wellness Through Healthy Grieving”
Mission
To provide children, adults, and families with education and support through their grief journey.
Circle of Life (registered as Grande Prairie & District Grief Support Association) has been in existence for over 15 Years. Through those years, there have been many changes. The program originally came under the umbrella of Canadian Mental Health Association. However, as time went on, and the premises of the program continued to evolve, the Circle of Life program eventually found its way in to the “not-for-profit” world.
At that time, a decision was made to provide services to children. Funding was secured, which enabled us to launch Camp He-a-He and many regional children's programs. However, after 5 successful years, this funding was lost due to significant cutbacks. With much spirit and perseverance, the Circle of Life program sought alternative funding sources, including the City and County of Grande Prairie Family & Community Support Services, and continued providing much needed support and comfort to children and adults in Grande Prairie and surrounding area. We greatly value this continued support.
Circle of Life operates with a Board of Directors, a part time Program/Office Administrator, casual school support workers, summer staff for children's bereavement camps, and numerous hard working volunteers.
In the fall of 2004, Circle of Life received a grant through the Wild Rose Foundation to hire the part time Program Development Officer for a period of 2 years to assist in securing the program and to promote awareness throughout the community and outlying areas.
Meeting our goals involves:
- identification of feelings
- learning alternate coping strategies
- developing support networks
We need not walk alone…
We reach out to each other with love and understanding, with hope
We come together from all walks of life, from many different circumstances….
We need not walk alone.
Credo, The Compassionate Friend
Children & Grief
One of the first that we need to understand is that there is no one way that children, or adults for that matter, respond to grief; and there is not one way that they should.
Some of the reactions that children will have towards grief include:
- shock and disbelief
- dismay and protest
- apathy & being stunned
- continuation of usual activities
- anxiety
- vivid memories
- sleep difficulties
- sadness
- anger
- acting our behaviors
- guilt, shame
- problems in school
- physical complaints
In dealing with loss, adults often withdraw, while children, depending on their age, may “act out” their reactions.
Regardless of the type of loss, significant or minor, it is important to remember that we not minimize the reactions to loss. Often we have to help our loved ones, or clients not to minimize or discount their reactions to loss. We help them see and give themselves permission to feel and react in whatever way they need to.
A child's reaction to loss will often depend on the following:
- their emotional understanding of death, separation, divorce or other types of loss
- level of emotional development
- relationship to the deceased, separated
- disruption of their environment
- opportunities to express feelings
According to Alan Wolfelt, when someone loved dies, children express themselves in a variety of ways. Caring adults, and professionals, need to be aware of these forms of expression, and recognize them as natural ways children work through grief. In his work, he has identified Twelve Dimensions of Grief that bereaved children may experience. These Twelve Dimensions include:
Apparent Lack of Feeling
Physiological Changes
Regression Behavior
“Big Man” or “Big Woman” Syndrome
Disorganization & Panic
Explosive Emotions
Acting-Out Behaviors
Fear
Guilt and Self Blame
Relief
Loss & Loneliness
Reconciliation
This list is not all inclusive, nor mutually exclusive. These grief responses occur in no specific orders or progression. As we all ready know, each child's responses are uniquely different.
Often times, children are protected from loss. This is due to a number of reasons:
- Children are often seen as young, vulnerable, and unable to cope.
- Children are not expected to cope with feelings like ours.
- Children are beginning their lives, so therefore should not be exposed to what happens at the end.
- They ask difficult questions, which in turn may make adult caregivers uncomfortable, or remind us of our own loss.
- Sometimes we thing the loss does not matter to a child.
An Adults Role
As adults, we should never assume that we know how children feel after someone loved dies, or there is a separation or loss. In addition to this, we should never assume that children in a certain age group understand death in the same way. As an adult, we should never determine when a child is finished grieving.
We need to be able to communicate several important attitudes. This includes respect, acceptance, warmth, understanding.
Respect means treating children as individuals without being possessive or damaging their self esteem.
Acceptance involves supporting them without judging their behavior. Rather than approval or disapproval, acceptance means recognizing that children are unique.
Warmth is a demonstration of personal closeness to grieving children. Remember that two-thirds of all communication is non-verbal.
Understanding is the need to be aware of our own experiences of loss and how that might affect our capacity to be emotionally available to grieving children.
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