TEXAS, USA — November 21 is National Children's Grief Awareness Day, also known as Blue Day.
On Wednesday, "Rays of Hope Children's Grief Centre" hosted over a hundred Greenwood children who are going through grief.
Pain is apart of life, and that doesn’t exclude children.
“Grief is always an internal response to an external event. So a lot of people think that’s only caused by bereavement or losing someone through death," said Jessi Morgan, Director of Rays of Hope Grief Centre in Midland.
"But we do work with kids who went through any type of painful loss or change. So death, divorce, separation, parents being incarcerated, parents being deployed, foster care-because we do believe that that can bring out grief in their life as well."
Which is one of the many reasons the Rays of Hope Grief Center is in our area to help children deal with their pain properly.
"I think it’s a difficult thing to approach, I think it’s hard to have that conversation. And anytime you’re talking about grief it’s uncomfortable for people. And then you add kiddos on top of that, so I do think it’s probably difficult to have those conversations at home and kind of teach that," said Morgan.
If you don’t deal with pain now, Morgan says it’s bound to manifest into something detrimental later.
“Higher risk for suicide, higher risk for substance abuse issues, higher risk for negative health outcomes including medical dental and pregnancy related issues. So it’s really important that you kind of work out what you’re going through and learn to grieve. Because if you don’t, the grief is still going to be there," said Morgan.
"So just because you’re not dealing with it at whatever age, in 20 years that grief is still going to be there. And some day you are going to have to deal with it or you're going to wake up and realize that you've shoved it down forever or it’s manifested it negatively in other ways."
One of the best ways for kids to open up, Morgan says, is with the help and similar struggle of someone their own age.
“We provide peer support groups and with that means you’re in with other kids your age that are going through similar or change. We do have adults facilitating the classes but primarily the discussion we kind of give them the starting point and then it's pretty much driven by them," said Morgan.
"We’re just there to facilitate them and make sure it stays on track. Which I think is the biggest benefit to the peer support group is you realize you're not alone. And it shows and that there’s kids their age going through the exact same thing and having the exact same feelings so you’re not alone in that."
Mayor Morales stopped by the center on November 21 to make a proclamation for Children’s Grief Awareness Day in Midland.