Another Saturday, another Summer of Music event at Barrie Harley-Davidson in aid of the Seasons Centre for Grieving Children.
Live music and a charity barbecue filled the air at the Bryne Drive store from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.
“It brings awareness of the services we have in our own community, and that there is a need for their support,” said Rowley Ramey, managing director of the Seasons Centre, a charitable organization serving Simcoe County and beyond.
Since December 1995, it has been providing peer-to-peer support groups for the community’s children, teens and their families grieving the death, or life-threatening illness, of an immediate family member.
“That awareness is important,” Ramey said, noting the need is for 10,000 while the current support level is for 1,000. “People don’t tend to look for this kind of support until they have a need.”
Seasons Centre participants are supported through their grief by professional program staff and trained volunteer grief facilitators in a safe, non-judgmental, home-like atmosphere.
One of the goals of the Seasons Centre’s peer support groups is to provide participants with the essential skills to promote grieving in healthy ways, thus building resiliency in children.
Its programs are unique and designed to provide children with the opportunity to express their feelings in socially acceptable ways.
During the group sessions, various emotions of grief and coping strategies are discussed in child-friendly ways. Many of the participants have expressed the Seasons Centre is the only place where they have felt comfortable, understood, and not alone in their grief.
The Seasons Centre relies solely on the support and generosity of the community. There are no fees for its programs. Children can attend programs regardless of their family’s financial situation.
Summer of Music, which is every Saturday in July, also celebrates the motorcycle culture with fellow enthusiasts, of all makes and models.
