Bill Wilson Center (BWC), a local leader in homeless services for youth and young families, received a $50,000 donation from Kaiser Permanente to support BWC’s Centre for Living with Dying program’s efforts in providing grief support services in the aftermath of mass shootings in Gilroy and throughout the country.
After the Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting on July 28, Kaiser Permanente said they wanted to help the community by supporting an organization that would provide wide emotional support to the Gilroy community.
“Many of us at Kaiser Permanente are deeply shaken by this event, which struck so close to home, and that many in the community share our grief and sorrow over this terrible act of violence,” said Irene Chavez, Senior Vice President and Area Manager of Kaiser Permanente San Jose Medical Center and Gilroy Medical Office. “It touched the lives of our members, our staff, and those at the festival.
“We understand that collaboration and partnership is what it will take for our community to heal,” continued Chavez. “Which is why it was important to support the work of the Bill Wilson Center and its Center for Living with Dying who will continue to provide emotional support for the residents of Gilroy and many others.”
Part of Kaiser Permanente’s mission is to improve the health of the communities where it works. Kaiser Permanente has provided medical care in Gilroy since 1986. BWC’s Centre for Living with Dying has provided grief counseling services to nearly 1,000 individuals since the shootings.
BWC’s Centre for Living with Dying program provides emotional support to adults and children facing life-threatening illness or the trauma of having a loved one die. It also provides crisis intervention services and broad-based educational programs on grief and loss. Individual and small group grief support is available for adults, children, teens and families.
Additionally, the Healing Heart Program, a special grief program offered by the Centre for Living with Dying, is a resource where families and youth can connect in life-altering times of grief and loss. The program offers grief groups for youth ages 5-17, as well as parent/caregiver groups to assist adults supporting children through the grieving process.
Learn more the Bill Wilson Center and their Centre for Living with Dying, visit their website, www.billwilsoncenter.org or, to receive services, contact the Bill Wilson Center at (408) 243-0222 and ask for an Intake Counselor.
