• Tweet
• Share
• Email
• Print

Wauwatosa:  It's a place to turn when no one else understands your loss.  Especially when you're a child trying to make sense of a parent's death. 

Kyle's Korner is a special place of healing, just for kids.  Where they can talk about their grief.  Something only those who have experienced the same loss can understand.

"You're just confused, you feel alone," Brian Linscott told us.  It's been almost 9 years since Brian's father, Patrick, took his own life.  That sudden loss has been a struggle for Patrick's wife and four children.

"Learning about suicide you never hear about it when you're younger.  It's not really something you talk about," said Megan Linscott.  The grief was bigger than this family, and mom Linda realized they needed help.

She brought her family to Kyle's Korner in Wauwatosa.  The group's goal?  To help children heal after the death of a loved one.  "It helps you come to terms with what just happened. You realize that you're not just the only person alone.  You see other people have lost a parent, have lost a brother or sibling," commented Brian.

Families share a meal at Kyle's Korner and then lean on each other to better understand their loss. The children learn to cope through play, art and sharing.  The adults sit down to talk and comfort each other.

"The process is slow.  There's hills and valleys," Linda told the group.  That process is what helped Linda and her children find "normal" again.  Now she's come full circle.  Linda is the program director at Kyle's Korner and is helping others work through the raw grief.

Linda knows is it possible to come out of the pain and be a stronger family on the other side.  "We've learned to have that conversation.  The difficult one.  When we're upset or being able to 'yah I miss my dad.' "

Those days still come around, but now this family has the knowledge and the strength to get through them.

Kyle's Korner uses volunteers and professionals to help families.  All services are free of charge.  The program relies on donations.  They need items like art supplies, toys and of course money.  If you would like to help visit their website kyleskorner.org