Dezi DePyper will be remembering her late friend Felix on Saturday.
So will other youths when a quilt dedicated to the memories of their deceased friends and family members is unveiled.
DePyper, 17, of Oak Forest, is among the 23 youths who attend weekly meetings of the BraveHeart Youth & Family Loss Group.
At 11 a.m. Saturday, a quilt dedicated to their deceased loved ones will be unveiled at the BraveHeart headquarters, the offices of Horizon Hospice & Palliative Care, 3420 Vollmer Road, Olympia Fields.
Twenty-one of the youths have decorated squares that will be incorporated in the 5-by-5-foot quilt.
To remember her late friend, Felix Jimenez, DePyper drew a heart with angel wings and a halo.
“I like BraveHeart a lot because this helps me cope with losing my best friend,” DePyper said of Jimenez, who died last year.
“I find that the group is very helpful for me. We talk about our losses, we share stories and discuss our feelings,” DePyper said.
BraveHeart, which has youth members ranging in age from 5 to 19, is split into four age-appropriate groups.
Kate Maver, who this week was finishing the quilt, is impressed by the variety of the squares.
“Some (squares) have little hearts on them. One has a picture of a steak because the person (who died) loved to eat steak. We have one that’s a picture of a family,” said Maver, Horizon’s development & communications director.
The quilt, she said, is “a way for children to express and memorialize their love for their loved ones who have died.”
“They can put down something that’s permanent, that will always remind them of those people,” Maver said.
The quilt will be on permanent display at the Horizon office, bereavement coordinator Theresa Parrish said.
“A lot of times, kids don’t even get to tell their story. We don’t ask the kids what happened. We probably are too wrapped up in our own grief,” Parrish said.
During the BraveHeart sessions, one group for kids meets while another for caregivers and parents meets, Parrish said.
Adults, she said, may cope with grief easier than children, who often face a lifetime of confronting their loss.
“It does take longer for a child. Think of the 5-year-old girl who lost her father. She graduates from high school, gets married, has children.
“Every time something comes up, she remembers her father. As she grows up she will re-grieve that loss,” Parrish said.
The BraveHeart groups meet Thursdays from 6 to 7:45 p.m. A light meal is served and there is no fee, but donations are accepted.
For more information about the meetings or the Saturday quilt event, call Parrish at (708) 441-8278.
MEMORY QUILT
What: Unveiling of a memory quilt designed by youths in the BraveHeart Youth & Family Loss Group.
When: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.
Where: Horizon Hospice & Palliative Care, 3420 Vollmer Road, Olympia Fields.
Information: Visit www.horizonhospice.org or call (708) 441-8278 or (708) 283-8150.
Read the original article from SouthTown Star.
Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services