Hospice of Santa Barbara seeing Growing Need for Children’s Grief Support
Patricia Martellotti
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Hospice of Santa Barbara’s Children and Family Services program is seeing a rise in anxiety and depression among elementary school students in Santa Barbara County.
“And now we are seeing more and more service request that are coming from elementary schools. Kids are facing something and it’s really creating a whole sort of different challenges,” said director of strategic advancement Charles Caldwell of Hospice of Santa Barbara.
The organization’s Children and Family Services program is currently active at local campuses.
The on-campus counseling service provides a vital space for open communication, support and the development of coping skills.
“We know in today’s world, there are significant stressors for our youth … we have social media … increased screen time … more isolation,” said superintendent Diana Rigby of the Carpinteria Unified School District.
For children and teens, grief from the loss of a loved one is closely linked to depression, PTSD and anxiety.
“We’re seeing … that the mental health challenges that kids face continue to grow … and what we’re trying to be able to do is find ways to support them … if you add a death that the child is struggling with a dear loved one, the challenge the child faces are almost insurmountable,” said Caldwell.
So the program is providing professional weekly support groups from elementary to college age students.
“For our most vulnerable students … they are connecting with their professional grief counselors, and they realize that there’s some hope working through that process,” said Rigby.
“Hospice of Santa Barbara also provides services in the event of a crisis at a local school.
“Because a child who died, it might be a child who committed suicide … it might be because of a beloved teacher has passed away,” said Caldwell.
Due to the growing need, Hospice of Santa Barbara is ready to respond to calls across 65 schools from Carpinteria to Goleta, in case a traumatic death occurs within the campus.
“My hope is we will always have access to the professional grief counselors with their compassionate care,” said Rigby.
Learn more about the growing needs and services from Diana Rigby Superintendent of Carpinteria Unified School District and Charles Caldwell director of strategic advancement at Hospice of Santa Barbara.