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Big Sky Connection -- One in twelve Montana kids will experience the death of a parent or sibling before age 18. Participants at a conference coming to Whitefish this week will explore how to support children who are grieving. Comments from two representatives of the Tamarack Grief Resource Center: Tina Barrett, executive director; and Tami Sparks, outreach specialist.
Click on the image above for the audio. About 18,000 Montana kids will experience the loss of a family member by the time they're 18. (Africa Studio/Adobe Stock)
Eric Tegethoff
September 26, 2022
A touring conference from the National Alliance for Children's Grief comes to Montana this week. The event will be in Whitefish on Tuesday.
The alliance works with organizations like the Tamarack Grief Resource Center in Missoula, which is organizing the Whitefish conference. Tina Barrett, executive director of the center, said it started as a camp 25 years ago to help kids and families heal after the death of a loved one.
"We can't take the pain away, but we can walk alongside and we can add strength to one another's journey," said Barrett. "And may we wrap children in not only care but effective care - with understanding others, with opportunities to creatively, symbolically, physically, narratively move through their experience."
Since Montana is such a large state, Barrett said part of Tamarack's goal is to support education so folks can expand the circle of care for people who are grieving.
In Montana, one in 12 children will experience the death of a parent or sibling by age 18, according to the Childhood Bereavement Estimation Model.
Tami Sparks works at Tamarack Grief Resource Center as an outreach specialist and has personal experience with the work it does. Her husband died by suicide in 2006, leaving her with three children. Her oldest, who was five at the time, attended the camp that predated Tamarack. She said eventually, all three went to the camp every year.
Sparks said kids get the space to be children there, but also to talk about their feelings.
"They really attribute how they show up in the world to being involved with Tamarack," said Sparks. "They feel like going to camps gave them the experience and ability to understand where other people were coming from in their walk with grief."
The conference in Whitefish features three speakers who will discuss the losses many families have felt in the past two years of the pandemic. Barrett said they'll touch on a variety of topics.
"How do we look at cultural humility and center culture and equity in our programming that we do?" said Barrett. "How do we understand the prevalence, and more importantly, the story behind the numbers as we're seeking to more effectively support children's grief? And what are some practical takeaways?"
The conference begins at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The theme is "No Child Grieves Alone."
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Big Sky Connection - Many types of nonprofit organizations have been overextended during the pandemic, which can't help but affect the folks who work for them. Comments from Laura van Dernoot Lipsky, founder and director, Trauma Stewardship Institute, speaking at a Montana conference today (Friday) about workers being overwhelmed as a result of meeting increased needs.
Click on the image above for the audio. Nonprofit organizations employed nearly 30,000 Montanans in 2019. (Artur/Adobe Stock)
Eric Tegethoff
September 23, 2022
The work of some nonprofit organizations has only increased with the pandemic and the needs that have come from it. An author and expert in the field of trauma speaks at a Montana conference today about many workers' feelings of being overwhelmed.
Laura van Dernoot Lipsky, founder and director of the Trauma Stewardship Institute and author of "The Age of Overwhelm", said there's a cycle for nonprofits in which they become overextended because of structural issues within society, which in turn affects their workers.
"You have individuals who are trying to sustain doing this exceedingly hard work," she said, "but in environments where it's almost impossible to do it or near impossible to do it."
van Dernoot Lipsky said it also can be hard for workers because of their vicarious exposure to trauma over time, or when they work in environments where there's high burnout. About one in nine Montanans works in the nonprofit sector.
The Montana Nonprofit Association's annual GATHER conference is taking place virtually this week and in-person next week in Helena.
Van Dernoot Lipsky said it's important for organizations to reconcile the fact that they won't be able to meet all the needs in their community.
"And when you have these very devoted folks working for you," she said, "we've got to honor and make sure that the work environment is sustainable for them, so that we are not inadvertently causing harm to the very folks who are doing this work in an effort to reduce harm out in society."
Van Dernoot Lipsky said people in the nonprofit industry who are feeling depleted or disheartened should understand that they are not alone.
"One of the messages that I think is very important is for folks to remember that whatever they've got going on, they are in really good company and that they're not alone and it's not just them," she said. "And so, just wanting to make sure that we interrupt that isolation, anywhere we possibly can."
References
Citation: Montana nonprofit economic-impact report Montana Nonprofit Association 1/2021
Citation: GATHER conference Montana Nonprofit Association 2022
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Eric Tegethoff, Producer, Contact
Eric Tegethoff is a journalist covering the Northwest. Eric has worked as a reporter for KBOO, XRAY FM, and Oregon Public Broadcasting in Portland, Oregon, as well as other print and digital news media. In 2012, Eric traveled to North Dakota to write about the Bakken region oil boom. He's also worked at a movie theater, as a campaign canvasser and quality assurance at a milk packaging factory. Eric is originally from Orlando, Florida. He graduated from the University of Florida in 2010.
Persistent ID: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erictegethoff/
Languages Spoken: English
Topic Expertise: Northwest state politics, environment, labor
Local Expertise: Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana
Demographic Expertise: low-income families, labor
