Grief support program for children expanding

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Since 1994, Pathfinders: Support for Grieving Children has been offering a support group for children and families or caregivers experiencing the death of a loved one.

And now a sister program, Pathways, has been created to help children who have a loved one with a chronic illness.

Pathfinders, the original children’s support program, was founded by Bangor teacher Maria Brountas and the late Barbara Eames.

It is sponsored by Hospice of Eastern Maine in Bangor and uses trained volunteer facilitators to help children with unresolved grief issues, which can lead to misbehavior, poor school patterns and foster juvenile dependency.

Adults who accompany children to the bereavement support sessions meet with their own group for the same time period.

The first meeting of Pathfinders’ fall 2001 session is from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 2, at Bangor Christian School on outer Broadway in Bangor. The program concludes on Tuesday, Dec. 4.

Through Pathfinders, children are helped to share feelings and experiences by talking about them with other children their own age.

Feelings can also be expressed and released through stories, games, drawings, play and other activities as well as discussions.

If you have a child or family you believe can benefit from this program, you are encouraged to arrange for an interview with program coordinator Linda Boyle. You can reach her at 973-8269.

The newest program, Pathways, is sponsored by Bangor Area Visiting Nurses and Hospice of Eastern Maine.

This program has been made possible, said Deb Jacques, spokeswoman for HOEM and BAVN, through the generosity of Bangor Noontime Rotary, which donated half of its recent auction proceeds “to launch this pilot project.”

The idea for the program originated with HOEM social workers “who are involved with Pathfinders and who saw that there is a need” to help children “who not only have lost a loved one, but children who have a loved one with a chronic illness,” Jacques explained. “The physical and emotional changes an individual with a chronic illness experiences can be disconcerting for children and, sometimes, very scary. We recognized that there is a need to extend this type of program” to help those children.

Pathways is for children who have a parent, grandparent or other family members with diseases such as cancer, HIV-AIDS, ALS, MS or diabetes.

Because life-threatening illnesses affect families in numerous ways, the situation can be unsettling for children, Jacques pointed out.

Pathways is a five-week, peer support group for children ages 6 to 18.

The first session is from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 2, in the Brandow Conference Room at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. The program concludes Tuesday, Oct. 30.

The goal of Pathways is to provide a safe, comfortable environment where children can share their thoughts and feelings about the changes their loved one is experiencing, and to encourage healthy, positive coping techniques.

The sessions include “Changing Bodies,” “Changing Families” and “Changing Selves.” The groups will be divided by ages and facilitated by licensed clinical social workers.

There is no fee for the program, and snacks are provided.

For more information, or to register for Pathways, call Vicki Trundy at 262-7253.

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Tickets for the St. Joseph Hospital Auxiliary 26th annual Fashion Show and Luncheon from noon to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 2, at the Bangor Civic Center, are now available.

The tickets are $20 each and can be purchased at Patrick’s Hallmark Shop in the Broadway Shopping Center or by calling the St. Joseph Healthcare Development office at 262-1720.

Proceeds will benefit St. Joseph Hospital’s Patient/Family Education Program.

You will read more about the event in the Style section of Monday’s Bangor Daily News.

The Friends of the Symphony sixth annual Feast & Foliage Excursion boards at 6:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 13, at the Park and Ride lot on the corner of Odlin Road and Interstate 395 in Bangor.

Advance arrangements can be made for individuals wishing to board along I-95 south of Bangor.

The cost of the trip is $109 per person and includes 2001-02 Friends of the Symphony membership. Cost for FOS members is $99 per person.

This fund-raiser, which benefits the Bangor Symphony Orchestra, brings back a lot of memories for me because you will travel to Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire, where you will board the 230-foot excursion ship Mount Washington for a 21/2-hour trip on New Hampshire’s largest lake, surrounded by three mountain ranges.

As a youngster, my father’s family held its annual reunions at Lake Winnipesaukee, and a cruise aboard the Mount Washington was always a major highlight of those gatherings.

The excursion also includes a stop at Annalee Dolls in Meredith, N.H., and a gourmet dinner at Mame’s Restaurant, an 1825 brick home featuring many antiques.

The reservation deadline for this event is Friday, Oct. 6.

Reservations can be made by calling the BSO office at (800) 639-3221 or 942-5555, or by calling Nancy Ziegenbein, 947-7965, or writing her at 41 Linden St., Bangor 04401.

Joni Averill, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402; 990-8288.