The Good Grief Patrol

05/23/2025

04/24/2025

Our next workshop is coming up Saturday, May 3rd!!
If you would like to register your child/children for this workshop, you MUST call 812-450-7021 and ask for Jill or Melissa. We'll need the names and ages of the children attending as well as the name(s) of the parent/guardian that will be accompanying them. We need this information to make sure we have enough materials for the kids to work with and also to make sure we have enough food for lunch!
We hope to see you on May 3rd!!

11/18/2024

This Saturday is the final workshop of the year for the Good Grief Patrol!! Just call 812-450-7028 to register!!

11/01/2024

We're sorry to have to bring sad news to this page, but we have not had anyone sign up for this workshop this year, so we're going to try to reschedule it for later this month. We understand how busy things can get during this Holiday season, but we had so many special Holiday things planned for this workshop, we hate to just cancel it. So we've decided to try to have it on the 23rd of this month at the same time and place -- Saturday morning, November 23, at 10:30am upstairs at the Linda E White Hospice House.

If you have, or know of, any children that are struggling to get through this time of year after losing a loved one, please let us know and we will get you all registered. Remember, there is no charge for anything we do that day, and we also provide lunch for everyone!

Call Jill Brinkley @ 812-450-7028, or Melissa Whitler @ 812-450-7037 to register!!

11/08/2023

We had another successful Good Grief Patrol workshop last Saturday!! It was a smaller group of kids, but they were spontaneous and creative and just had a great time! Our next workshop will be Feb 3, and we already have a couple of people signed up, so give us a call if you would like to attend!

10/30/2023

the month of November!!

In recognition of Children's Grief Awareness Month this November, the National Alliance for Children's Grief (NACG) is coming together with its dedicated members to "flip the script" on grief. Throughout the month, NACG and its partners are committed to providing essential tools and resources to foster a more grief-informed society. This initiative, created by NACG with support from national childhood grief organizations, Eluna, Experience Camps, Dougy Center, and Judi’s House, seeks to address the common challenges people face when supporting those who are grieving, aiming to replace potentially hurtful statements or silence with comforting and constructive responses.

Stay tuned the month of November for more information on how YOU can !!

10/03/2023

Six months ago today, the NACG launched the Teen Grief Journal. We have received great feedback on this resource, and we are proud to have it fill a gap for many who are serving teens who are grieving. This journal was developed by teens who were involved in every step of the process and includes quotes from them throughout. If you are interested in purchasing a Teen Grief Journal, visit nacg.org/teen-book. Bulk discounts are available.

In this photo: Lily K, one of the teen contributors to the journal, with her journal when she received her copy.

08/08/2023

Children may be less familiar with how to name their internal experience of a loss, so they may not say, “I am sad and lonely because Aunt Jane died." They may feel that but not be sure what words to put to it. You can help them by giving them those terms—if they are crying after they hear of someone dying, you might offer, “Often when we cry, it is because we feel sad.”

Children and adults grieve in some different ways and may need different help.

07/23/2023

This National Parents’ Day, we celebrate those who have taught us the values and beliefs that shape us, and mourn those who are no longer with us. If you have a child in your life that has lost a parent or a parental figure, Alexander Funeral Homes has joined with Deaconess Hospice to offer a children’s grief workshop called the Good Grief Patrol.
We saw a need for someplace safe where children (with their parents/guardians) could go to learn how to maneuver through their unique grief journeys. Our next workshop is Saturday, August 12 at 10:30am on the second floor of the Linda E. White Hospice House, 611 Harriet St. To register for this workshop, please visit our Good Grief Patrol page or call one of these phone numbers: 812-423-4477 or 812-450-7021.
We have also partnered with the National Alliance for Children’s Grief and you can visit their website to learn how to help children cope with their grief. https://bit.ly/3QqIumR

07/14/2023

Our next workshop is coming up! It will be Saturday, August 12 starting at 10:30am on the second floor of the Linda E White Hospice House, 611 Harriet St, Evansville.

As always, there will be great activities designed to help both the children and their parents learn to maneuver through their unique grief journeys. A couple of the fun things we'll be doing is constructing a wind sock and reading "Lost In The Clouds."

We will also have a special, one-of-a-kind Coloring Book for all the kids to take home with them! It is chock full of activities that are specially designed for the parents and kids to work on together.

So if you're interested in registering for this workshop, just contact us at (812) 450-7021, or either jillian.brinkley@deaconess.com or tina.hale@deaconess.com. Looking forward to seeing you next month!!

05/08/2023

We had an amazing workshop last Saturday! This was our biggest group ever and they were wonderful! As usual, the new ones were a little shy to begin with, but were interacting with all the other kids by the end of the workshop.
They made new Memory Boxes, decorating the outsides with all sorts of pictures and words reminding them of their loved one, and a few even had some things they made to put inside! We also read a book on using small things that remind you of your lost loved one to help start a conversation with others about what made that loved one so special. And, of course, we ended the workshop with our Memory Tree ... with kids and adults both posting messages to their loved ones using flowers and butterflies this time to enhance all the leaves that have been posted in past workshops.
Our next workshop will be on August 12 at 10:30am on the second floor of the Linda E White Hospice House. We already have some families registered for that one, so if you want to sign up, call Jill Brinkley or Tina Hale at 812-450-7021! We hope to see you there!

04/15/2023

I have to apologize!! I thought I had already posted these pictures from the last workshop! My mind is just not firing on all cylinders these days!
Anyway, here are several pictures form that workshop, and I'll be posting the upcoming workshop on May 6 in the next week or so.
Enjoy the pictures!