Description

Professionals and the public are all welcome to join us for this important presentation from Rainbows for All Children on helping children with the grief and challenges of divorce. Rainbows for All Children trains adult volunteers in community-based sites such as schools, faith-based organizations, libraries or community centers to lead age-specific support groups for children and teens, ages 3-18, who are grieving from some type of loss. These groups provide a safe environment that encourages communication while identifying, navigating and discussing difficult feelings that accompany loss.

As the Director of Programming and Community Engagement, Laura Lindroth is committed to providing support to youth experiencing life-altering events by continuously expanding the Rainbows for All Children programs into communities worldwide. She also ensures the programs serve ALL children and families in the best possible manner by safeguarding and revising the curricula, based on evidence-based research and data assessments, to meet national standards of best practices as well as the various expanding needs of diverse youth. She has been instrumental in bringing programming to the Cook County family court in Chicago, where judges are able to order families to attend groups where they learn how to have a more amicable divorce and focus on their children. Laura formerly served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Jamaica, working on community development projects and HIV prevention, treatment and support. She has decades of extensive experience in community building for the public heath arena, including children’s malnutrition and disaster relief efforts in Haiti, smoking prevention, cessation and policy implementation on college campuses, and health education and promotion to youth. For the past seven years, her focus has been on grief, loss and trauma, implementing evidence-based interventions to prevent negative health outcomes from adverse childhood experiences. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Communication from Boston University and a Master of Public Health in International Health and Development from Tulane University. Laura lives in Evanston, IL with her chef hubby, three teenagers, two cats, a snake, a gecko and several fish. She is an avid reader, writer, swimmer, baker, and photographer who loves to practice yoga and meditation, travel, and experience other cultures.