WILLOW CENTER OFFERS HELP TO KIDS EXPERIENCING LOSS
by Autumn Coleman (KLEW TV Sept 2006)

Twin County United Way recently added a new partnership agency. It's called the Willow Center and it provides free grief support to children in the Lewis-Clark Valley who have suffered the loss of a loved one.

Steve Button, one of the center's clinical coordinators, talked about the organization during an interview this week.

"Kids who've experienced a loss through death often feel really left out among their peers, that their peers really don't know how to relate to them well, or they really feel different," said Button. "Willow Center offers them a chance to come together with kids who have had a similar experience and a similar loss and it really gives them an instant bonding experience with each other. It gives them time where they can share thoughts and feelings that other kids are experiencing, they know it's normal, they can figure out what's maybe not normal, and just kind of talk about the day-to-day experiences that they have to go through in order to deal with that loss."

Meetings are held on the first and third Tuesdays of every month at the Head Start building in Lewiston. A trained facilitator leads the session that gives people a chance to listen to others and, if they feel comfortable, speak about their own situation.

"We have a group of trained adult facilitators that are our facilitators of each of the support groups," he said. "They kind of lead the groups, but the kids make decisions about what they want to do and talk about in group as well. Basically, as I said, it's a support group for kids. It's not a therapy group. We don't do therapy with the kids. We offer them an opportunity to come and talk about what they want to talk about and share what they want to talk about regarding their losses. Sometimes they come and just maybe listen or participate in other activities. It's really up to them to decide what they want to share and talk about regarding the particular death or loss in their family."

If you would like more information on the Willow Center, or would like to become a volunteer or board member or donate more money, you can contact them  at (509) 780-1156.