The Circle of Care Online Resource Toolkit
To help foster well-prepared circles of care in all communities, the Circle of Care has collected practical resources from national experts on children’s experience of loss, grief, and the effects of substance use disorders (SUD) on families.
Life in a substance-affected family can be painful and isolating for children and teens, and the experience of loss and grief adds many more layers of fear, distress, and complexity. Connection with even one understanding, compassionate adult in the family or community can make all the difference. Professional, volunteer, neighbor, family member—it might be anyone who takes the time to listen, learn, understand, and respond in safe and effective ways.
The collections of web-based resources you can access through this site are organized in four main categories:
- A sampling of resources in three age-specific collections
- Three collections offering deeper insights into the lives and support of children who struggle with grief in substance-affected families
- Three ways of expanding the reach of our efforts
- Information about children's books on grief and related topics, organized in four age ranges
We have linked to individual resources developed by 18 extraordinary organizations, including the Centre on Addiction and Mental Health, the Child Mind Institute, the Dougy Center, the Elizabeth Hospice, the Eluna Network, Families Rising, Good Grief, GriefSucks.com, the Grieving Students Organization, Judi's House/Jag Institute, the National Alliance for Children's Grief, the National Association for Children of Addiction, the National Center for School Crisis, the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, Psychology Today, the Sesame Workshop, and Wayfinder Family Co. We highly recommend that you also take some time to explore the many free resources available on the websites of these organizations.
The resources linked to in this Toolkit are solely the products and property of the organizations that have posted them, and those organizations bear no responsibility for the content of this toolkit or this website.
Resources in Three Collections by Children's Ages
This Toolkit starts with a selection of national resources organized by the ages, developmental levels, and reading levels of the children you support. Within these three collections you will find resources with information about children, grief, the supporter’s role, kids’ experiences, and age-appropriate activities.