Texas children struggling with grief after pandemic losses

Youngsters Karis, Creighton and Cortland Cooper lounged in their living room on a hot summer day watching Lego Star Wars -- with photos of their late grandfather and great-grandmother lining the shelves just to the side of the flatscreen. The kids lost those grandparents to COVID-19 along with their great-aunt and great-uncle -- all within three months. They weren’t able to visit sick relatives in the hospital before they passed. The last conversations with their grandfather — who they normally saw at least twice a week— were over the phone. “I’m a single parent so for my kids, my dad was a father figure to them,” said Shannon Cooper, the siblings’ mom. Children nationwide are still struggling with grief after losing close family members during the pandemic. Many families are reaching out to their children’s schools and local organizations for help.

Some North Texas districts have hired crisis counselors or formed partnerships with grief resources in the community while others have come up with innovative ways to support students on campus. More than 14,000 Texas children lost a parent or caregiver to COVID-19 in the first 15 months of the pandemic alone. They also watched parents lose jobs and struggle financially, experienced food insecurity, housing instability or fell behind in school because of disruptions. Such stressors can make it difficult for kids long term. Adverse childhood experiences are linked to mental health problems, lower self-esteem, sexual risk behaviors, increased risk of substance abuse, suicide, violence and shorter schooling, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “And we talk about grief. Grief is -- it’s complicated,” said Jessica Gomez, a doctor of psychology and executive director at the Momentous Institute. “It’s not just the loss of someone, but there have been so many losses in the past two years.” Research shows that many of the challenges children faced when COVID-19 hit can have short- and long-term consequences on their mental well-being. Children are more anxious, less connected and more likely to have experienced trauma than they were before the pandemic, according to a report from Texans Care for Children.