With the anniversary of the Von Maur Tragedy at Westroads Mall today, Nancy Hemesath, spokesperson with the Ted E Bear Hollow program says it is important that children be allowed to experience grief. Many families with small children were impacted by the event and she says children need to express that grief in a positive manner or they could experience problems in the future.
“More likely to commit felonies, illegal behavior. That only makes sense if you understand if they have anger that doesn’t come out in a constructive way.”
Hemesath says children of the victims of the Von Maur tragedy have participated in the program.
“Several of the families participate in our program. It isn’t something they came to once and that was all they needed. It is an ongoing process.”
Hemesath says some continue to participate.
“There are those still participating because of the tragedy last year.”
Hemesath says statistics show that if children do not get the proper help after such a horrific event, they could act out at a later age.