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 program:
Spring 2025
Session 1: March 25th from 7:00-8:00pm
Session 2: March 27th from 5:30-8:00pm
Session 3: April 1st from 5:30-8:00pm
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