Starting Monday, Aug. 1, a free, 12-week grief support course will be held at Perennial Park, also known as the Hillsdale Senior Center.
The Somewhere Over the Rainbow Grief Support and Education course will meet every other Monday.
Two different class times are available, either 9-11 a.m., or noon-2 p.m. Registration for both is open until either the classes are full or the morning of the Aug. 1. Currently, spots are still available at no charge.
Mike Prince is the pastor at Hillsdale Nazarene Church and will lead the group. He recommends those who are interested in joining should call as soon as possible as availability is limited.
“I usually have about 12 people in each group, but I’ve extended it to 14 people,” Prince said. “Those groups are probably going to fill quickly.”
Prince has led grief support groups for more than 22 years and said they can be very beneficial for participants.
“It’s a great thing for any community to be able to be together and I just think that the greatest blessing that we could ever have is to be there for each other throughout the journey,” Prince said.
Prince said he’s learned over the years that there are many misconceptions about grief and what the journey to healing looks like.
“There are so many questions and misunderstandings that people have about grief, so these groups help to get people focused on learning that what they are feeling is natural to them and they are not wrong for the way they feel,” he said, “There’s no condemnation, and in a group like this we find healing in sharing our stories doing without any fears. That’s part of the healing.”
Prince said his personal experiences with grief have played a large role in his passion for helping others through their grief.
“The greatest joy of these groups is seeing people be able again to move forward one breath at a time and see them be encouraged.”
Prince hopes to offer more courses in the future.
Perennial Park is located at 320 W. Bacon St. Hillsdale. To register, call (517) 437-2422 or (800) 479-3348.
