TRU

Caring For Our Community Since 1976.

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TRU Grief Services Invites Community to Lights of Life Holiday Remembrance

October 27, 2016 by TRU Community Care

This holiday season, TRU Community Care invites you to remember someone who has been special in your life by attending our Lights of Life Holiday Remembrance Event on Saturday, December 3, 2016 at 5:00 p.m.

Lights of Life TRU Community Care

Join TRU Community Care’s Grief Services department for a holiday remembrance ceremony on Dec. 8.

Our indoor event will feature a reading of names, music, and a luminaria ritual, along with light refreshments. You will have a chance to connect with others who are in similar situations and feel more supported going into the holidays.

Guests are invited to bring a photo or memento to place on our memory table. If you choose, you may also bring a story, poem, or reading to share during a designated time in the service. You may also come and just sit quietly.

Directions

2593 Park Lane, Lafayette, CO

TRU Community Care’s Grief Services office is located on the corner of Forest Park Circle and Park Lane in Lafayette, near the intersection of 95th and Arapahoe. The building is cream stucco with stone and has signs out front indicating that both TRU Grief Services and TRU Pace are housed in the building.

From the West
On Arapahoe going East, you’ll cross over 95th Street and take your first right on Forest Park Circle. Our building will be the second building on the left.

From the East
Going West on Arapahoe, you’ll cross over HWY 287 and drive about 1.3 miles. You’ll take a left onto Forest Park Circle and the office is will be the second building on the left.

directions to TRU GRIEF Services and TRU PACE

Filed Under: Grief, Holidays, Lights of Life, Community, Events Tagged With: Grief, grief services, events

Father’s Day Butterfly Memorial is set for June

May 10, 2016 by TRU Community Care

yes.monarch.ID-100168437Remember the fathers, stepfathers, uncles, grandfather and other special men in your life at our annual Father’s Day Butterfly Memorial on June 19.

Both kids and adults are invited to come create mini butterfly gardens to attract your own butterflies at the Butterfly Pavilion in Westminster. Art and gardening supplies will be provided.

The event will start at 11:30 a.m. as attendees plant mini gardens filled with flowers and plants that attract butterflies. At noon, there will be a short ceremony and those who wish to share a memory may do so at that time and leave a love note at the memory table. There will be cake and juice to follow.

The butterfly release will be 12:30 pm in the rainforest wing. The Butterfly Pavilion is offering discounted admission of $5 per person for this segment of the program. Pre-registration is required.

If you go …
What: TRU Community Care’s Father’s Day Memorial and Butterfly Release
Where: The Butterfly Pavilion, 6252 W 104th Westminster, CO 80020
When: June 19 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
How much: $5 admission to Butterfly Pavilion
More info: RSVPs are required to Michon by calling 303-604-5330

Filed Under: Grief, Father's Day, Adult, Children, Events, Community, Holidays Tagged With: memorial, westminster, butterfly release, hospice

Healing Circles Mother’s Day Event

April 20, 2016 by TRU Community Care

Healing Circles MotMothers Day Wreathher’s Day Event

During this Mother’s Day, create something that you can hang and that will honor your special person. Kids process grief through play and art so every come and create something together. This art workshop is for kids, teens and families, helping them remember the special person who has died: a mother, an aunt, a grandma, a friend. Wreaths are often the symbols of the circle of life and of seasons.

This event will be held on Saturday, May 7 from 9:30 am. – 12:30 p.m. at the TRU Community Care Grief Services Office, 5565 Arapahoe Ste A, Boulder.

For more information or to reserve your spot, contact Michon Davies at 303.604-5330 or by email at michondavies@trucare.org.

Download the flyer here: Healing Circles Mother’s Day Flyer 2016

Filed Under: Grief, Holidays, Community, Events, News, Children, Grief Groups Tagged With: Grief, Mother's Day, children

Remembering that special someone

February 10, 2016 by TRU Community Care

ValentinesDayCraft.jpeg

On this Valentine’s Day, those who have recently lost loved ones may want to use the occasion to honor and remember. At TRU Community Care, we find that holidays can be an especially tough time for our Boulder County hospice families.
Feb. 14 is a holiday designed to celebrate love. If your special person has died and you are going to celebrate this holiday, often kids will need to include their special person in the festivities. The relationship your child has with their special person may continue through all of their developmental stages as they integrate that loss.
The need to remember that special person may come and go as time passes, and depending on the nature of that relationship (e.g. the death of a teacher may be experienced differently than say, a death of a parent). They can choose to remember their person that day or not depending on how they are feeling. Grief looks different for each person, and it is different over time.  Just taking a moment to pause and acknowledge the loss and how things have changed allows kids to process. Remind them of what helps them and that they can make themselves safe.
A simple remembering activity you can with your kids is to have each of you draw two hearts and cut them out.  The first heart the child colors will represent who s/he is now and the second heart will represent the special person who died.  After both hearts are colored, attach them together, symbolically representing the connection.  If everyone in the family does it and attaches them all together, it is a visual reminder of each person’s link to the special person. Kids process loss through art and play, and creating time for that can create a meaningful holiday.
Be gentle with yourself in grief during holidays. Find out more about TRU’s Grief Services for adults and children here.

Filed Under: Grief, Holidays, Children, Adult

Helping Kids Survive the Holidays

November 24, 2015 by TRU Community Care

michon hwh

Holidays are difficult for kids & teens that have lost a loved one and are learning to navigate their grief journey. We understand how complicated this time can be for them, and have several groups offerings to help them survive the holidays.  For more information on them or to see our full list of grief groups for kids and teens, click here.

Healing with Horses – Coping with the Holidays

This is a two week workshop offered for all ages 5-18.  We combine equine-assisted activities with peer support to share stories, play games and be together remembering our special people who have died.

We learn various ways to care for horses and ourselves during the holidays.  We will be talking about what helps us and what things we want to do this holiday season with our families.

You must pre-register to participate.

Meeting: December 8th & 15th
5:00 pm – 6:30 pm

Location: Medicine Horse, 8778 Arapahoe Road, Boulder CO, 80303

Register: Michon Davies, 303.604.5330

Download the flyer here: Coping with the Holidays – Healing with Horses 2015

Healing Circles Glass Memories Teen Group

devon and AlanWe are also offering our teen Grief and Glass workshop. These workshops are for teens aged 13-18 who have had a death loss and want to remember their special person by creating some glass art.The group will learn glass blowing safety skills, how to marver, blow, shape and manipulate the glass with some color application.  They will learn how to make a bowl, an ornament and a paper weight.

The maximum number for this group is eight and there is a registration interview required with both teen and parent/guardian prior to acceptance.

Meeting: December 20th or 27th
9:30 am – 12:00 noon

Location: C & H Glassworks, 11354 West 13th Ave #6, Lakewood, CO 80211

Register: Michon Davies, 303.604.5330

Download the flyer here: Coping with the Holidays 2015

Filed Under: Grief, Season, Holidays, Community, Events, Children, Grief Groups

Colorado Gives Day 2015

November 24, 2015 by TRU Community Care

2015SmallAwareness_1web

Colorado Gives Day is an annual statewide movement to celebrate and increase philanthropy in Colorado through online giving. For the sixth year, Community First Foundation and FirstBank are partnering to present Colorado Gives Day on Tuesday, December 8, 2015. Donations are accepted through ColoradoGives.org

We hope that you will join us this year! Last year we raised over $28,000 through your generous donations and community support. No matter the size, all donations will benefit patients and families in our care as well as help provide grief services to them and our community.

Donations can be scheduled in advance up to Monday, December 7th. In order for us to qualify for the incentive fund, all donations must be made through the Colorado Gives website.

For more information on this event or on how to schedule your donation, please visit our Community Events page.

Filed Under: Holidays, Community, Events, Colorado Gives Day

Tips for Getting Through the Holidays when You Are Grieving

November 23, 2015 by TRU Community Care

Tips for Getting Through the Holidays when You Are Grieving 

  • Acknowledge that this year will be different. Eliminate whatever you need to. There is nothing you must do.  Grief depletes energy.  Because of this lessened energy, the simplest of tasks may loom large and insurmountable.  How can you face dinners and parties when smiling and laughter feel like the twist of a knife in the raw wound of your loss?  How can you attend religious services with all of their reminders and implied promises?
  • Decide ahead of time how you want to spend the holidays. You may choose to be with family or alone, to go out of town or stay home with movies.
  • Do things that feel right for you, not because your loved one would have wanted it that way, or because your family thinks you should.
  • Give yourself permission to change whatever traditions or rituals that you need to change. Nothing is written in stone! Just because something has been done a certain way for twenty years doesn’t mean that it is the only way to do it.  Change things if you want to.  The option to return to the old traditions will be there next year and the year after.
  • Break the silence about your loved one so that others know that it is OK to talk about him or her with you.
  • Change the time, locations and/or menu of traditional meals. Or eliminate them altogether this year. Attend religious services at a different time than usual or at another house of worship-or don’t go at all this year.  Decorate differently, have someone else decorate, decorate exactly the same as always or don’t decorate at all.  Open gifts at a different time than you did before.
  • Memorialize your loved one in some way that is both important to you and would have meaning for him or her. It needn’t be a large gesture, but it is helpful if it has a unique and personal value. You can acknowledge that your deceased loved one isn’t there by putting a candle in their honor on the table, or making a toast, or by visiting the cemetery.
  • Break large tasks into small pieces. Don’t be afraid to delegate tasks to others.
  • Tell your family and friends what you need to feel supported. It may be to do shopping for you, help you cook dinner, or help you create new traditions. They would probably like to help you but don’t know what to do. Tell them as specifically as you can.
  • Be flexible in your plans, knowing that your energy, moods and needs may change quickly.
  • Set aside time to be alone and grieve, to reminisce or journal.
  • Recognize the sources of discomfort, try to anticipate even the smallest part that might elicit pain, and then decide what can or cannot be faced, altered or eliminated.
  • Take care of your own health; guard your own strength and energy. It is OK to say, “No” to invitations. It is difficult to predict your feelings and energy levels, so it’s also OK to change your mind at the last minute about attending dinners, parties and religious services or to leave a function early.  You must be your own guide.
  • Be aware of the stresses of grief on your body and mind. Eat well (use sugar, caffeine and alcohol moderately), exercise, and get enough sleep.
  • If you wish to go away for the holidays, do so. Remember though that you will take your thoughts and your grief with you.
  • Do something you have never done before. Give your own life a degree of meaning and value no matter how bereft you are feeling.
  • Visit support groups, community memorials or church services with people that you know will support your experience.

For more information on our grief groups or to contact us, click here.  

Filed Under: Grief, Holidays, Community, Children, Adult

Grief Services Winter Newsletter

November 13, 2015 by TRU Community Care

butterfly Our winter Grief Services newsletter has arrived & is available to download and share.  Click the link below to read helpful tips for the grief journey, recommending readings, and winter grief group offerings:

Grief Services Newsletter Winter 2015

For more information on our Grief Services, click here.

Filed Under: Grief, Holidays, Lights of Life, Community, Events, Newsletter, News, Children, Adult, Grief Groups

Lights of Life 2015

October 26, 2015 by TRU Community Care

Holiday Candles This holiday season, we invite you to remember someone who has been special in your life by attending our Lights of Life Holiday Remembrance Service. This indoor service will feature moments to honor and remember as well as connect with others in similar situations.

For your convenience, we are having a Lights of Life Holiday Remembrance Service both in Longmont and Boulder.  RSVP’s are appreciated. For more information or to register, please click here.

Filed Under: Grief, Holidays, Lights of Life, Community, Events, News, Children, Adult

Halloween Blues

October 5, 2015 by TRU Community Care

Fall-Foliage-Wallpaper-4As it gets darker earlier, it gets colder and Halloween is just around the corner, there are so many fall activities that time can feel compressed or over scheduled.

How do you cope with the holiday blues if this is an important holiday to you?  How do you have the emotional energy to face this holiday without dread?   Each person handles their grief differently.  Here is one idea for Halloween. On the holiday, set aside five minutes to check in with your senses.  What do you:

SEE?  SMELL?  TASTE? TOUCH? HEAR?

This helps you if you are feeling anxious or sad.  Take a pause and acknowledge where you are in the moment.  This is a way to know how you are on this holiday, without too much effort or energy.  If you want to, jot it down.  For example this Halloween, I might see the birds in the sky flying over.  I hear the sound of traffic, etc.

If you want to spend some time reflecting about your loved one, do the same thing again.

SEE?  SMELL?  TASTE? TOUCH? HEAR?

What sounds do you think of when you think of your loved one?  Or smell?  Is it the food he/she made or something that he or she used?  For example, when I think of my mother, I remember the smell of cold leaves before going trick or treating, or her popcorn balls that smelled of hot sugar.

Sensory memories are quite unique for each person and special.  We often can associate those sensory memories in our present life.  It gives us connection with a loved one that is no longer here.

On Halloween, I will set out a pumpkin, plug in some lights, order take out because I don’t have energy to cook and I will remember her when I smell the cold leaves on Halloween night.

Be gentle with yourselves in grief.

Filed Under: Children, Grief, Holidays, Community, Adult

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About TRU

TRU Community Care (TRU) affirms life at every step of your journey with illness and loss. Our vision is to lead a healthcare transformation by engaging with our communities and offering innovative, meaningful care for those living with illness and loss.

Founded as Boulder Hospice in 1976, TRU is a Colorado-licensed, Medicare and Medicaid-certified, nonprofit health care organization serving Boulder, Broomfield, Adams, Jefferson, Arapahoe, Denver, and Weld Counties and beyond. With a focus on providing a continuum of care for members of our community living with advanced illness and loss, TRU’s programs include TRU Hospice, TRU PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly), TRU Palliative Care, Landmark Memory Care, and TRU Grief Services.

TRU Hospice is proudly accredited by The Joint Commission and is a five-star-level hospice in NHPCO's We Honor Veterans program created in collaboration with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). TRU is a member of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO), the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI), the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC), Nurses Improving Care for Healthsystem Elders (NICHE), and the National PACE Association (NPA).

Our Services

TRU Grief Services
& Administrative Offices
2594 Trailridge Drive East
Lafayette, CO 80026

TRU Hospice Care Center
1950 Mountain View Avenue
4th Floor South
Longmont, CO 80501

TRU Thrift Shop
5565 Arapahoe Avenue
Boulder, CO 80303

TRU PACE Program
2593 Park Lane
Lafayette, CO 80026

TRU Memory Care
1744 S Public Road
Lafayette, CO 80026

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