FREE RHYTHMS OF GRIEF: DISCOVERING THE HEALING POWER OF ART & MUSIC EVENT FOR BEREAVED INDIVIDUALS, YOUTH & FAMILIES
New Hope Grief Support Community helps bereaved children and families find hope and healing through connection and support.
When my grandfather died in 2017, I wrote a song and a poem that could capture his silliness and his courage and his love for family, along with the brave way he lived and left his life. When my grandmother died in 2020, I wrote poetry and eventually a stage performance that honored her memory — the way she taught me to dance no matter how bad I am at it, and the way she taught me to laugh in the face of sadness.
This poetry, these songs, and these performances didn’t bring my Papa or my Baa back to me, but they did help me remember them with joy, with laughter, and with peace in my heart in spite of the loss. Grief is not easy or simple or the same from person to person, and our friends at New Hope Grief Support Community in Long Beach champion this truth so beautifully.
— Paige Pelonis, CityHeART Executive Director
New Hope Grief Support Community will host Rhythms of Grief: discovering the healing power of art and music, an event on Saturday, February 25, 2023, from 10:00 a.m.- 12:00 p.m.
“The free community event will take place at Grace Church, in the Bixby Knolls area of Long Beach, CA,” according to a press release from New Hope today. “In partnership with UCLArts & Healing and with Facilitator Gino Gamboa, join us for an experiential journey through the benefits of art making, sound, and drumming for managing grief and loss. The event is open to all ages, no musical or drumming experience is required, and materials and lunch will be provided.”
This community healing-centered event is designed for families who have experienced the death of a loved one, and each family member is encouraged to attend. Facilitator Gino Gamboa is a clinical psychologist from Peru who is also a drum circle facilitator at REMO Music Center, as well as a Beat the Odds drumming facilitator for UCLArts & Healing. He has been a teacher and luthier (instrument maker) in Afro-Peruvian drumming for over 35 years. Gamboa learned that fusing his psychology background and musical knowledge can release stress and create new family dynamics as a way of healing. The Ryhtyms of Grief event will be an interactive session that includes making a rhythm instrument, using movement and healing rhythms as a vehicle for expression, connecting with others in a supportive environment, and paying tribute and honor to loved ones who have died.
This event is free to attend and is designed for families who have experienced the death of a loved one or someone special. Space is limited and RSVP is required online.
About New Hope Grief Support Community:
Based in Long Beach, Calif., New Hope Grief Support Community (New Hope) has been providing grief support to children and families for 19 years. New Hope’s mission is to help grieving people find hope and healing after a loved one dies. Learn more about the programs and services New Hope provides to the community at www.newhopegrief.org.
About UCLArts & Healing:
UCLArts & Healing is an organizational member of the UCLA Collaborative Centers for Integrative Medicine (CCIM), which promotes education and research in the complementary, alternative, and integrative approaches to health and well-being, and is supported by the Arts & Healing Initiative, a non-profit organization established for this purpose. Our mission is to transform lives through creative expression by integrating the innate benefits of the arts with mental health practices for self-discovery, connection, and empowerment.