HAMILTON — A child’s grief can be heartbreaking for everyone involved. The John Engle Christian Counseling Center works to mend those young hearts, providing peer counseling to children who have endured the death of a family member.

Since its beginning in 2001, the JECCC Mending Hearts program has helped hundreds of families through the various stages of grief, offering support for children ages 8-18, as well as family support for the adults who are grieving with them.

“There are five separate groups that provide age-appropriate places where kids can talk about their issues with other kids who are either going through, or have gone through, the same thing,” Mending Hearts Director Becky DeLong said.

DeLong said the five groups are divided by age range: 5- to 7-year-olds, 8-10, 11-12, 13-18, and a separate group for adults. Each group is led by a volunteer who has personal experience with Mending Hearts or who works in a job that matches with the program goals.

“Our groups offer a safe place,” DeLong said. “No one is forced to talk if they don’t want to, and our volunteers have either been in the program or come from a variety of related backgrounds.”

DeLong said each age group deals with death differently. The little ones worry about what a parent’s death will mean to them; teens tend to be angry or may place the blame for the loved one’s death on themselves.

While some kids willingly talk about their feelings, many are not comfortable sharing their thoughts, she said.

“I just didn’t think I could talk to people I didn’t know about my dad’s death, and I had a whole bunch of mixed feelings about coming here,” said 14-year old Courtney Mills of Hamilton, who has been attending Mending Hearts since February.

She said her teen group has helped her begin the process of moving forward after her father’s death in December. She said the group plays games, reads and talks.

Courtney’s sister, 9-year-old Abby, said she enjoys the friends she has made in her group. She said she likes to participate in the arts and crafts projects that often serve as an ice breaker for those shy about joining the conversation.

Grandmother Bonnie Mills has custody of the girls as a result of her son’s death. She said her family was referred to Mending Hearts by the Hamilton school district. The program also has helped her, she said.

“I have been able to talk with other adults,” Bonnie Mills said. “That and my faith has sustained me in my own grief.”

Mending Hearts meetings take place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month at First United Methodist Church, 225 Ludlow St. in Hamilton, where the JECCC is housed.

To donate or to arrange for a required pre-program interview to join a counseling group, call the John Engle Christian Counseling Center at (513) 896-4357.