Abstracts

An estimated 2.5 million children in the United States, under the age of 18, have experienced the death of a parent. Losing a parent to death is almost unquestionably the most devastating event that could occur in the life of a young child. Further, many surviving parents/caregivers report difficulty in communicating with children regarding the loss and its impact on the family. The proposed program A Heart Connection will provide support and coping tools to children and surviving parents/caregivers to help them in the adaptation to this profound loss. This grant application to the Foundation for Grieving Children Inc., will provide needed funds to provide evidence-based group therapy programming for both the bereaved children and surviving parents/caregivers through Comfort Zone Camp (CZC), a nonprofit agency for grieving children and families in Los Angeles, California. The actual submission and/or funding of this grant are not a requirement for successful completion of this project.