Pam Clark Gatcomb, a volunteer bereavement counselor for “Stepping Stones” learned this through a class exercise nine years ago when she took the hospice training course. She was asked to draw her family at the dinner table and one member was crossed out. The instructor told her to imagine how as a child she would get along without this person and how she would grieve.

Pam now helps local children through Stepping Stones, a bereavement support group for children and teens between the ages of 5 and 18. The group meets at Brookside Congregational Church.

As Pam learned through her experience, kids grieve differently from adults and it is hard for everyone in the family to grieve together.

“Kids, I’ve found, grieve in small pockets. They often delay their own grief in order to protect a parent who is struggling.  Several years later, their pain comes out in different ways, and everyone wonders, ‘What’s happening?’”‘“No matter what your age or experience, when you lose someone you love, you don’t get over it,” Pam says. “But you can go on in remarkable ways and learn that even though that one seat at the table was empty once, in time, love will come along to fill its place.”’

“This unique program is one of a kind in Manchester and the surrounding area," Pam says, "We say ‘Thank You!!’ to Phaneuf Funeral Home for being the generous supporter for this group.”