May 25, 2005
Uplifting messages
Michael's Place holds annual Balloon Launch to remember deceased family members
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Messages of love, loss and remembrance soared out of sight Monday night during fourth annual Michael's Place Balloon Launch.
As clouds loomed threateningly overhead, more than 60 people gathered in the Children's Garden behind the Traverse Area District Library to send a message to a deceased family member. Penning heartfelt notes to sons, daughters, parents or siblings who have died, attendees then tied them to one or more brightly colored balloons. Together, they all let the balloons go and watched them float away over Boardman Lake.
Memorial Day can be an emotional time for families and Michael's Place - an organization devoted to helping children and families cope with grief after the loss of a loved one - provides a venue for healing every year.
"I wrote to Adrian what life was like without her, just kind of a love letter," said Penny Morris, whose daughter died in a car accident last August at the age of 17.
Morris attended the launch with her husband and son, each bringing a note they already wrote with them. All three have found solace in the weekly Monday evening meetings facilitated by trained Michael's Place volunteers. Sharing the emotional turmoil of a loss has helped them immensely.
"The families get close, we've made some pretty strong connections here," said Morris, who in honor of her daughter's vivid personality, tied her note to a trio consisting of a purple, red and yellow balloon. "But more than that is that we learned to connect to the outside world through their sorrow."
"There are times when you just think you are going crazy, because the emotions are so strong," she continued. "Then you hear other people going through it."
Formed in October, 2001, Michael's Place offers these families an island in a culture that does not welcome or have many rituals for grieving. The founder, Chris Dennos, created the organization in honor of her cousin, Mike Dendrinos, who died at age 14 in the early 1970s.
The organization offers a meal every week to attendees as volunteer facilitators help provide a safe haven to vent strong emotions as individuals find their own path to healing.
Stacey Popp, one of the organization's volunteer facilitators, noted how the annual Balloon Launch provides a way to say goodbye.
"Just saying goodbye at a funeral is one thing, seeing the balloon rise up is a symbol of letting go and knowing that they are in a far better place, but we just can't see them anymore," she said.
Popp said she knows firsthand how grief can remain unresolved. When she went through her facilitator's training, she found herself dealing with sorrow from 16 years ago, when she had lost four of her grandparents within approximately six years.
"There's no manual on grief," said Popp, who is in her first year as a volunteer facilitator. "I lost my friend in high school, too, drunk driving, and they didn't know how to deal with us."
With an emphasis on helping children, Michael's Place gives parents, who also may be grieving as well, help for their children's feelings. Morris said her family initially began attending the program because they wanted to help and support her son, now 14.
"The teenage years are hard enough without the loss," she said.
For more information on Michael's Place or the volunteer facilitator program, contact Mindy Buell at 947-6453 or see the organization's web site at www.michaels-place.net