AMY CROCKER stands at the doorway of the Hurricane Room at Bright Star, the Center for Grieving Children and Families, where her four kids get all their energy out with the help of colorful, cushioned shapes and four padded walls. Crocker lost her partner when her oldest was 9 years old and her youngest was just a few months old. "If I hadn’t found Bright Star, I’m not sure how the kids would be coping today. If you’ve gone through what we have, try it. It will help."

Hospice of Health First's Bright Star, the Center for Grieving Children and Families, is hosting its semi-annual camp Saturday, April 27, at Gleason Park in Indian Harbour Beach. The camp runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. when campers will be joined by siblings and adult members of their families to work together to create a memorial of their loved one who has died.

To register, visit CampBrightStar2024.eventbrite.com. To find out more, call 321.434.7622.

One group of kids will be Amy Crocker's boys. The 11-, 10- and 8-year-olds have been coming to Bright Star since they unexpectedly lost their father in June, 2022. 

 

“Ever since that first visit, it's like, they can’t wait to get to Bright Star. They love Bright Star. They’re all about it,” she said.

After the death of William "Billy" Brighton, Jr., “I didn’t even want to get out of bed,” Crocker recalled. “It was hard for me to talk to them about getting through it because I didn’t even want to at the time. I noticed they could use help with grieving, but I was grieving.”

On the first visit, she dropped them off. On the second, she asked to see the activities rooms.

“That first time, I hadn't even gone back to look, so the second time – because they were so excited – I’m like, ‘Can I see what you have back there?’”

“They get to play and have fun, but in every activity there is a therapeutic underpinning,” says Nicolle Conley, Bright Star’s Bereavement Coordinator. “There is therapy. There is memorializing. There is remembering. There is telling the story of the person they lost – all of that is wrapped up in that day, and it sits with them. So there is a lot of healing that can happen between camps.”

The Bright Star Center for Grieving Children and Families, 1131 W. New Haven Ave. in West Melbourne, is a place for teens and children (beginning at 5 years) who have experienced the loss of a loved one. Specialized grief support programs meet monthly for 90 minutes, empowering young people to thrive after loss through emotional support, learning and creative play. (Adults are required to participate in a guardian group while children’s groups meet.)

At each camp, kids go home with a physical creation that they’ve poured memories into, along with a t-shirt, bag, book, photo booth digital pictures and more.

“We hope that they have a new way to remember their person. Because kids forget, right? They say, ‘I don't really remember what his voice sounded like. His smile, the way he walked.’ So the things they create at camp they take home, and they’re representations of their fun day of activities and new ways to remember and continue to love their person.”

The camp April 27 can be an introduction to further support in regular programs. (Parents and children who have not previously attended programs at the center are welcome!) To register, visit CampBrightStar2024.eventbrite.com, or call 321.434.7622.

READ the full feature and see all the photos in Space Coast Daily HERE.