When the tragic death of a young girl shook the Edison/Highland Park community to its core, Chai Lifeline was able to help her friends, family, and neighbors understand and respond to the incomprehensible event. Over the course of the last five days, Rabbi Sruli Fried, LMSW, Chai Lifeline’s New Jersey regional director, Norman Blumenthal, Ph.D., director of crisis intervention and bereavement services at the agency, and Zahava Farbman, LCSW, Project CHAI coordinator, worked with educators in three schools to provide information and tools to help children grieve, cope and heal from the loss.

The reverberations of the child’s passing were felt in three schools. Over three days, Rabbi Fried met with the principals and educators of Yeshiva Shaarei Zion girls’ and boys’ elementary school and Rinas High School. The discussions focused on the many possible responses that could be expected among children at different ages, ways to reassure children following an untimely death, and strategies for enabling children and teens to cope with tragedy. Mrs. Farbman’s meeting with the girls of Shaarei Zion gave them an outlet for an outpouring of grief and concern.

Tuesday evening, Rabbi Fried and Dr. Blumenthal responded to the concerns of hundreds of parents at a community meeting at Yeshiva Shaarei Zion.  Mothers and fathers received guidance on issues that included grief reactions at different ages, how to talk to children about a friend’s death, and recognizing and responding when sadness morphs into anxiety or depression.

“No words or actions can erase the pain of this family and the community.  By providing assistance to schools, shuls, and community organizations, our crisis intervention team aims to ease the anguish of children forced to cope with the horror of untimely death,” said Rabbi Fried.

“While we hope that we never have to do this, Chai Lifeline’s expertise provides a real services to communities in crisis,” added Rabbi Simcha Scholar, executive vice president.