ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A metro school district is trying to help students grieving a lost loved one, and it’s getting help from a local nonprofit. 

Rio Rancho Public Schools is the first school district to have a grief support group. The director of counseling at Rio Rancho Public Schools saw a need for something like this last year, and with the help of the New Mexico Grief Center they brought their vision to life. 

Some would call it an invisible load.

“We kind of look at it like a suitcase full of feelings and hurt, and they come to school, and we expect them to be in the classroom, and to learn, and they have this curriculum, but they are carrying this heavy suitcase of grief,” said Deidra Ortiz, a RRPS school counselor. 

Counselors at RRPS are now helping students lighten that load with a grief support group.

“They’re involved in a group that not every student can be involved in,” said Ortiz.   

Ortiz says the Moving Forward Support group is supposed to create a safe space for students of all ages to work through their grief.  

The first session starts next Tuesday on Oct. 8, and they will meet every Tuesday after that from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Eagle Ridge Middle School. Dinner is also provided for student participants.

“We’re a place where students can feel comfortable and to talk with us and to share with us things that they might not feel they can do at home and share with their family,” said Ortiz. 

Ortiz says this would not be possible without the grief center and their training.

“It’s amazing what Rio Rancho Public Schools is doing. New Mexico is number two in childhood bereavement. We have more opportunity to help kids deal with grief, but we don’t yet have the resources or the infrastructure,” said Mickey Kivitz, director of education of the Grief Center. 

Kivitz is tasked with reaching out to different school districts about grief support.

“They are going to have certain behaviors that they do that cause harm, they are kids they don’t yet know any better,” said Kivitz.  

From grief kits to seminars, Kivitz says talking to children about loss is a tool that every teacher should have.

“It is going to impact the wellbeing of their schools, health and safety of their students, it’s going to help them focus better because they know someone cares about this need they have. When we don’t address grief, we allow lonely people to be isolated,” said Kivitz.  

Kivitz says other school districts like Las Cruces and Roswell are also starting to reach out about this. 

Parents or school administrators who want to learn more are encouraged to reach out to the grief center. Click here for more information.