Evergreen Nights of Service aid grieving families

DOVER-FOXCROFT — At some point, every family will experience loss through death and the grief that accompanies it. Parents of children or teens are often challenged with helping their children adjust to the many losses incurred by the death.  

Pine Tree Hospice’s Evergreen Nights of Service is a six-week program that is designed specifically for children, teens, and their families who have experienced a death of a loved one and provides a safe place for kids to share their experience with others who are also in the process of working through their grief and loss. Each session has a different focus, such as feelings, other expressions of grief, memories, and coping.

Participants are encouraged to engage in various activities including art, play, journaling, and talking so that each person may discover what works best for him or her as an individual to help process their grief and to help integrate the loss into one’s life. An adult support group is also available for parents or guardians of the children to attend at the same time the children meet.  

Families must register and attend an orientation meeting to determine if the Nights of Service is an appropriate match for each family member’s needs. The next Nights of Service program begins Oct. 7 and continues through Nov. 11. Groups meet weekly on Wednesdays from 6:30 –7:30 p.m.. at the Dover-Foxcroft Congregational Church. For more information, call 564-4346.