MIDLAND, Texas — At Rays of Hope, the community outreach under the Hospice of Midland, Director, Adriana Aguilar says they purpose at the center is to help kids and families going through some form of loss. "We are a children’s grief center. We see kids who have been through any loss of change so that’s death, divorce, separation, incarceration, deployment, foster care and we provide peer support groups for those kiddos," says Adriana Aguilar, Director of Rays of Hope.
With 1 in 14 kids in the U.S. experiencing some form of loss of a parent. Places like this bring kids together and show them they aren't the only one dealing with this. "We’re not counseling or therapy but we give them the chance to say 'hey I’m not alone there’s other kids out there that understand me and are going through something similar as me' and we give them tools of expression and together they build bonds," says Aguilar.
The center has rooms catered to these kids from drama rooms to music rooms. "Being in the sessions with our music therapists, I think that helps kids express their emotions and express things they never even thought about," she says.
Since offering their services for years, parents have been pleased to see the strides and growth in their child. "Some of the feedback we got...our families really like they can spend time together here and open up conversations about things they didn’t know they need to talk about," says Aguilar, "from the kids themselves they always tell us they have lots of fun, and can meet new people and create relationships with other kiddos here."
You can help out Rays of Hope by booking a Valentine's Day mini sessions photoshoots. You can book your shoot for January 29th or 30th or February 6th. The photoshoot proceeds will go to Rays of Hope. For more information on how to book you can go to Rays of Hope Facebook page.