For Kids

Engaging and interactive support groups designed for kids in grades one through eight whose families are experiencing a separation, a divorce, or a difficult post-separation time. 

As one parent said, "Both my kids loved it. My daughter said specifically that it made her fee less alone, that she wasn't the only person going through this." 

Over the four-hour in-person session, children will learn resilience skills and how to use them as they cope with the separation experience. Sessions of Kids First for Kids! meet from 9 am to 1 pm on select Saturday mornings throughout the year. Through age appropriate activities and peer interactions, kids will learn about parental separation and ways to manage family challenges in healthy and positive ways. Kids First for Kids! is designed to provide school-aged children with a unique opportunity to share experiences with peers in a safe, neutral environment. 

Attendees will have facilitated discussions and activities around family changes, communication, and feelings together with strategies to cope with those feelings when this family change is often unwanted and unwelcomed. Each session is led by licensed clinical social workers with specialized training and experience with divorce and separation issues experienced by children.  

In most instances, parental consent is required from each parent or legally recognized caregiver. 

Light refreshments will be provided.

Kids First for Kids! is supported by grants and donations to the Kids First Center. There is no cost to enroll children in this group, though donations to offset the costs of the work of Kids First Center are greatly appreciated. 

Have questions?

If you'd like to learn more about our programs or to apply for financial assistance, please email us at info@kidsfirstcenter.org, or call us at 207-761-2709, Monday-Friday, 9 am to 4 pm. Need-based scholarships for Maine residents are made possible, in part, by a grant from the Maine Judicial Branch. The Kids First Center's goal is to make its programming affordable for all parents, children, and allies regardless of financial hardship.