Community Partners – Good Grief Cape Cod
March 18th, 2022
A few years ago, while attending the Cape Cod Mom’s Parent Resource Fair, we met a lot of incredible community organizations. The range of support services for children and families on Cape Cod and the Islands is incredible. One of those organizations, Good Grief Cape Cod, has become a close and valued partner.
Good Grief Cape Cod’s mission is to promote positive change as to how our society responds to grief. The agency offers community engagement opportunities, shares information, provides educational workshops and support systems that help children and families cope with death. Good Grief Cape Cod believes in and has research which supports their belief that children of all ages grieve. Good Grief was founded and is operated by Amy Wyman, a music therapist with a dual degree in Early Childhood Education and Child Life from Wheelock College as well as a Master’s in Expressive Art Therapies with a specialization in Music Therapy from Lesley University.
Good Grief Cape Cod’s mission is to promote positive change as to how our society responds to grief.
As organizations we support individuals who have experienced something traumatic. People find it difficult to discuss physical and sexual abuse as well as other crimes against children. It is not common for people to discuss the impacts of death, dying and loss. All of these issues affect children and are important conversations for healthy and supportive responses to children in need of care. Our friends at Good Grief Cape Cod help children and families process and learn how to discuss loss and grief.
Good Grief Cape Cod has a variety of community engagement services that include holding grief response workshops, donating hand-made stuffed bears to grieving families, offering retreats, hosting “meals that heal” for families who have recently experienced a loss, and providing individualized therapeutic response for children and families. The agency recognizes that death, loss, and grief impacts everyone in a variety of ways depending upon their age, faith, culture, and community. Supporting a child, family or any other individual who has experienced loss requires a special and authentic response.
At Children’s Cove, we have learned that loss is not only related to the death of a loved one. Grief is experienced by the loss of pets, the separation from friends, loved ones and relationships, or the removal of a parent figure due to arrest or incarceration.
Last year Jacob Stapledon, our Community Engagement and Education Coordinator appeared on the Cape Cod Mom’s Parent Pod with Good Grief Cape Cod’s Amy Wyman and they discussed with host Amy Leonardi that when Covid-19 shut down the world, the lack of connection to others was a shared, and also individual, loss.
We need to talk about topics that scare us. By confronting these fears, by being transparent, open, and raw, we can help children heal. The incredible work done at Good Grief Cape Cod to assist grieving families and children cope with death is a vital resource for our region.
To learn more, visit their website, or call Amy Wyman at 774.392.8150
