Children’s Program

A safe place for grieving children ages 6 – 12(approximately grades K-6) to express their feelings through play and art, sharing and listening that promotes healing, understanding peers, and activities to remember and commemorate their loss.

Meets every other Wednesday, 6:00 – 7:30 pm in Medford during the school year (September through June). Children can be added to the program at any time during the school year, depending on enrollment numbers. To learn more about how you can help your child, see “How to be with your grieving child.”

Our Children’s Program also provides support to families, which in turn creates a circle of support for the wider community. For example, three years ago five moms came to us feeling completely broken; each had lost her husband and was raising her kids alone. Because of their participation in our Children’s Program, they have bonded, forming a cohesive circle of support. They still attend our Children’s Program and each one has been able to move forward and help others. All are able to pay it forward. We hope to continue this good work and expand our reach to teens in Jackson County who desperately need our help.

Teen Program

Our school-based teen grief groups are offered on-site at middle and high schools in Jackson County. They are facilitated by trained WinterSpring volunteers and school personnel and typically run eight weeks or are ongoing. Groups are coordinated based on the needs of individual schools. During 2013-2014, we had groups at Ashland High School, Ashland Middle School, North Medford High School, McLoughlin Middle School, South Medford High School, Eagle Point High School, Talent Middle School, and Lithia Springs School. If you are struggling with a grieving teen, see “How to be with a grieving teen.”

Do the grieving kids in your life complain of pain, have on-going illness, inability to focus or concentrate, sleep disturbances, fearfulness, anxiety, and anger? Do they act out at school and express regressive or antisocial behavior?
Grief resurfaces in children and teens as they grow and mature. At WinterSpring, we’re prepared to provide support to these kids as they move through their various stages of development. And if they start with us in Children’s Program, they can move into Teen Program once they get into Middle and High School.