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06/29/2011
The Home Nursing Agency Healing Patch – A Center for Loss and Hope for Grieving Children and Their Families – was the recipient of two grants awarded to help the program continue reaching out to local children and families facing the loss of a loved one.
Lee Initiatives Health and Wellness Endowment (LIHWE) awarded the Healing Patch $14,100, and the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies granted the program $2,000 to assist with program costs to offer the service free to children and families.
The Healing Patch is a unique, volunteer-based service offering peer support for grieving children and their families who have experienced the death of a significant person in their life. The Healing Patch is a free service, providing a safe place for them to come together and be with others who understand what they are going through. Sharing their feelings and experiences in an atmosphere of acceptance, families discover that what they are going through is normal and that hope and healing are possible. The Healing Patch currently has locations in Altoona and Ebensburg.
“The children often slip through the cracks and become lost emotionally and psychologically,” says Randy Zitterbart, associate pastor of Hillside Community Church in Bellwood, in a letter of support. “The Healing Patch is a priceless resource that saves lives and creates the opportunity for mangled emotions to be repaired and restored.”
Pictured: Healing Patch participants Lucas S., Julia D. and Faith B. relate to one another through play and dress-up as one way to cope with grief at The Healing Patch – A Center of Loss and Hope for Grieving Children and Their Families.
