South Shore Hospital Volunteers Helping Kids Cope With Cancer

On the first Thursday of every month, The South Shore Hospital is helping children cope with a loved one's cancer at the

Some months it may just be one family, other days many families will attend the monthly free sessions,  Julie Kembel  explained.

Kembel is a Friends of South Shore Hospital board member and  Co-Leader of the new South Shore Hospital Friends of Hope Program, "Helping Children Cope." The program is designed to help children in tough situations express feelings through art rather than trying to difficultly explain it in words.

Kembel who has her bachelor's and master's degrees in special education, and training and certifications in Health Education, Lifestyle Coaching, Hypnotherapy, and Biofeedback said all of the volunteers who run the programs are certified and trained to work with children.  The skilled instructors are child educators, guidance counselors, psychologists, and special education teachers who are registered volunteers of South Shore Hospital and donate their time to the program.

The Kembel's Co-Leader is Maureen O'Brien, who is a developmental psychologist who has worked for several years each in hospital settings, corporate America, and in higher education.

Kembel and O'Brien lead a free 2-3 hour session at the Hingham Library once-a-month, which is designed for kids ages 4-10.  The sessions use the children’s’ story “ The Moon Balloon” by Joan Drescher.  With the story, children can express feelings through symbols and images that they may be unable to say in words. Kembel said children and adults learn together, and later can use the same methods and materials at home to discuss feelings about a loved one’s illness.

The program is focused around the children, and the parents usually just observe.

The instructors teach parents the best ways to answer difficult questions children who have family members with cancer may have, such as: “ Why does mommy look funny?” “Why is mommy’s hair falling out?” and “Can I catch cancer?”

“Children are more likely to open a conversation based on our program,” Kembel said.

Kembel said the programs are not just run at the Library but are organized case by case and can be brought into daycare centers, nursery schools, and churches.

“We want to be where the family is most comfortable,” Kembel said.

Kembel said the program was created in 2009 after it was understood that many young parents do not know how to talk to their kids about cancer.

“No one was offering anything in area,” Kembel said.

The sessions are held in Hingham on the first Thursday of every month in the Whiton Room at the from 4:00 p.m.  to 7:00 p.m. and on the first Tuesday of every month at the Tufts Library in Weymouth at 4:30 p.m.

Anyone is welcomed to attend their next meeting on Thursday, Jan. 5 in Hingham.  For more information, contact Julie Kembel  at 520-991-4997 or by email,  jakembel@NLAbooks.com.