Healing Hearts
Healing Hearts is a three-session grief program designed to give children ages 8 to 12 an opportunity to interact with other children their age who have experienced the loss of a loved one. Through play, stories, games, songs, talking about feelings, art and conversations with our bunny puppet named “Hamilton”, children find a comfortable place to express their thoughts and feelings.
This program is offered at no cost to the families and open to any child in the community. Pre-registration is required to ensure we have enough supplies and staff for the children attending.
All sessions take place at Hamilton’s Funeral Home, 605 Lyon Street, Des Moines.
Upcoming Summer Program:
Mondays - July 14th, July 21st and July 28th
Contact the Academy for more information
Additional Resources
-Printable Handouts about talking to and supporting grieving children
-Latest episode of “The Widowed Parent Podcast” about supporting grieving children
-National Alliance for Children’s Grief: GriefTalk Resource Guides
- Talking to children about death and dying
- Talking to a child or teen to let them know someone has died
- Talking about end-of-life memorials and rituals
- Talking about grieving as a family