A child's drawing helps express some of the sadness inside.

An expansion program of Saint Agnes Hospice

The Footsteps program offers grief support for children and teens who have experienced a death in the family. The program is a home grown, award winning, expressive arts curriculum offering a healing bridge for communication between children, parents, grandparents and foster parents whose families are on the unpredictable passageway of grief. Over 4,000 children and their adult caregivers have attended our Footsteps support groups since 1990.

Children (ages 4 through 18 years old) are placed in small groups with other children of similar age and loss situations. Each group meets weekly (for 6 weeks) for an hour under the guidance of a trained volunteer facilitator on the Medical Center Campus. Concurrent parent/caregiver support groups are an integral part of Footsteps.

 *No one is turned away due to lack of funds

Children's comments:

I came to Footsteps because: "I had a hard time","my mom made me", "I heard it was fun", "to help me", "because my daddie died."

Footsteps helped me learn: "don't be skerd", "that I'm not the only one",  "that it's not my fault", "to talk about my problems", "it's alright to be sad."

My favorite part of Footsteps:  "everything," "the art," "being with people who cared about me," "that we were with kids our own age," "talking to people with the same experience," "my teacher," "just being here," "the teddy bears," "the snack." 

"When I came to Footsteps I didn't know why I was here.  I was scared.  I was in group seven, We had four boys and three girls. We were all the same age. At first I didn't want to talk but my teacher was nice. In my group everyone had someone who died in their family. Some of their friends teased them too. I'm glad I'm not the only one that this happened to. I will never forget my dad and now I can talk about it. I used to always think about how I could have kept him from dying, now I don't really think it was my fault. My favorite part was the art and snacks."


Comments from school staff and administrators:

"Parents have expressed gratitude. Staff was very appreciative and some of the students have improved based on SSI update meetings" - Garfield School Psychologist

"Definitely better behaviors and improved communication with peer and parents." - Stone Soup Coordinator

"Has strengthened student relationships (with each other) and teacher-student relationships." - Mayfair Principal

"They miss it. They want to be in it again. They loved it. It helped them feel better and realize others had similar issues and experiences in their families." - Pinedale School Psychologist

"Some of the students are now able to talk about a death in the family more openly and seem better able to cope with the loss." - Washington Colony Counselor

"It seems as though they have had a weight lifted. This has allowed for a more positive learning experience for these individuals." - Mayfair Vice Principal

Parents comments:


"Behavior has improved."


"It gave me strength and hope."


"Five Star program."


"It has helped them talk about their problems and not keep things bottled up."


"Terrific ideas, very helpful, I am not alone."

Picture drawn after the trauma of September 11, 2001.

Art Therapy and Trauma 

In response to devastating losses suffered by victims of Hurricane Katrina, the American Art Therapy Association is sharing information about how art therapy can help children cope with their losses.

Using Art in Trauma Recovery with Children (pdf)

For more information about Footsteps
call (559) 450-5608.