Program Helps Kids Deal with Loss

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (WJBK) - Mourning the loss of a loved one can be one of life's most difficult tasks for adults, but for children it is even harder. One program is helping kids deal with incredible loss.

"This was the flower on his casket, so I took it off just to remember him," said Bryce Kimbrough. Precious memories the nine-year-old boy has collected to honor his beloved big brother. 21-year-old James was murdered in his Detroit apartment, leaving his family steeped in sadness and confusion.

"It's been a little over a year, and it's just as painful today as it was then," said Nicole Gray, the victim's mother.

"I get sad sometimes and a little bit angry," Kimbrough said.

Dealing with murder or any death can be complicated for kids. Helping them heal is the task of St. John's grieving children's program called Open Arms.

Making an emotions mask is one step in the healing process for Kimbrough. "On the inside, I said I'm weak and scared," he said.

"Well, we do a lot of art activities. Certainly, we use dialog with them, helping them to verbalize feelings, identify feelings because they're not always clear about what those feelings are," said Open Arms Counselor Karen Gray-Sheffield.

Open Arms, on the east side of Detroit, is an outreach program to help children as young as three deal with the death of a loved one.

"It's different in that children may not all grieve all at one time. They may put their grief on the shelf and come back to it later," Gray-Sheffield said.

When children can learn how to cope with their loss, it can have lifelong benefits taking away anger and resentment. Kimbrough even admits that he knows it's okay to cry. "It's okay. It helps get some of the pain out," he said.