Rainbows program now offered for free at family center

When experiencing family transition such as divorce or separation, there is now another place parents and guardians can find the Rainbows program for assistance.

Already offered in area schools, Rainbows will be now be available for free at New Vision Youth and Family Services in Cape Girardeau as well. Rainbows is specifically designed to assist children who are grieving a death, divorce, separation or other type of family change.

"It is nice that this has come through now. The holidays are so hard on so many people, children and adults, anyone going through any kind of trauma or family change," said Pat Hill, registered director for the Rainbows program in Southeast Missouri. "We want parents to know there is some place they can turn to for help."

The Rainbows program is just part of a larger concept with the same name. Rainbows is an international, not-for-profit organization that offers training and curricula for establishing local peer support groups in churches, synagogues, hospitals, schools or social service agencies.

This organization's four age-directed curricula are: Rainbows, elementary series; Spectrum, adolescent series; Kaleidoscope, college/adult series; and Prism, single and stepparent series.

The elementary Rainbows program is currently available in all Cape Girardeau public schools, kindergarten through grade eight, as well as Trinity Lutheran School and St. Vincent de Paul School in Cape Girardeau. The program is also offered in all Jackson schools, kindergarten through grade eight, except the middle school, according to Hill.

Benefits and goals of the Rainbows program have been identified as: working through the grief process, healing of grief, improved self image, coping tools, expression of feelings, learning to trust, better relationships and better grades.

To learn more about Rainbows, visit www.rainbows. org, call New Vision at 334-3486 or contact your local school.

jgosche@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 133