NO CHILD SHOULD
GRIEVE ALONE
The sights and smells of summer
on the Suncoast are in full effect.
But for some children and families,
bronzing sunshine, barbecues, and
trips to camps are merely temporary
distractions from the grief they live with
every day. There’s no off button for grief.
One in 14 children in Florida will experience
the death of a parent or sibling by the age of
18, with more than 6,500 grieving children
in Sarasota and Manatee counties alone.
Statistics show isolation, depression,
anger, sadness, and substance abuse
are more pronounced in grieving children,
but it doesn’t have to be that way. Support,
love, and compassion are available.
Blue Butterfly Family Grief Center, a
Tidewell Hospice Grief Education and
Support program, is serving children in a
safe, non-clinical atmosphere. Kids learn
they never have to grieve alone. During
the school year, peer grief support groups
take place at Blue Butterfly twice a month
in the evenings. Children participate in
groups with other kids who also have
experienced a death. They eat and
play together and participate in creative
activities to develop tools and access
resources to overcome grief’s challenges.
Blue Butterfly provides a soothing
presence in the lives of the enrolled
children and families by continuing to
enrich friendships, but without the grief
support component.
“The bonds that are formed in our groups
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