FFIT is here to help.
FFIT has partnered with 70 sites in 30 communities across Alberta to bring you the internationally acclaimed RAINBOWS series of programs. These programs are offered free of charge to children and adults who wish to heal unresolved grief due to divorce, separation, death or abandonment. Based on a peer support group model, this program is designed to be delivered by clinicians and non-clinicians alike.
- RAINBOWS was developed in 1983 by Suzy Yehl-Marta, after realizing there was no appropriate peer support program for her three children after her own divorce.
- To date, RAINBOWS and its 32,000 volunteers have helped 1 million people in 18 countries worldwide.
- Last year, FFIT and its partners delivered RAINBOWS to close to 1,000 children.
RAINBOWS promotes emotional healing by giving participants the opportunity to share their feelings and grieve their loss within a safe, caring setting, with peers who have experienced a similar loss. We do not teach or counsel our clients. We simply ask questions, listen and make it easier for participants to talk at the heart level.
Currently, RAINBOWS includes 6 different programs to meet the needs of various age groups:
- RAINBOWS - 14 week program for elementary - age children
- SPECTRUM - 14 week program for adolescents
- KALEIDOSCOPE - 12-session program for adults dealing with unresolved grief due to any type of parental loss
- PRISM - 14 week program for single parents and step-parents (it is recommended that parents and children take RAINBOWS and PRISM concurrently when available)
- SunBeams - 14 week program for pre-schoolers
- Silver Linings - a Community Crisis Response Program, to assist educators and youth care givers as they lead children and teens to understanding and hope
When a change takes place in the family, whether it is death, divorce, separation or abandonment, it has a profound effect on all members in a family. Grief is both an expression of love and a normal human reaction to a significant emotional loss. If it isn't healed at the appropriate time, it may be repressed or become chronic. When grief does not have an opportunity to be resolved, its impact can be destructive.
The aim of RAINBOWS is to implant in these grieving children, adolescents and adults a belief in their own goodness and the value of their family. The curriculum teaches that each change in life is an occasion for a new beginning. The goal of the support group is to assist participants in expressing and understanding their feelings, accepting what has happened, and experiencing a sense of belonging and love.
...because it doesn't have to hurt forever
For more information on RAINBOWS, please visit the Canadian RAINBOWS website at www.rainbows.ca and the International website at www.rainbows.org.
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