LEWISTON – Androscoggin Home Care and Hospice has announces its next hospice bereavement volunteer training that will begin Thursday, April 27. The sessions will run from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the new Wilton office, 284 Main St.

The five-week program will prepare volunteers for a range of responsibilities in grieving support for Androscoggin Home Care and Hospice patients and their families.

Meeting twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays, the 15-hour training will cover information on providing one-to-one visits and telephone support for loved ones and family members in the year following the death of a hospice patient.

The training will be facilitated by the Androscoggin Home Care and Hospice Hospice Bereavement Supervisor Jim Douglas. The curriculum will explore grief through group discussions, readings and individual and group activities.

Training topics will include hospice philosophy, understanding the issues surrounding grief, recognizing normal and complicated grief, listening skills and companioning.

An additional 12-hour training will follow for those volunteers wishing to become grief support group facilitators.

“It is a sad fact that many who suffer the death of a loved one don’t want to burden others with their feelings of grief. Bereavement volunteers and grief groups make it possible for grieving family and friends of our hospice patients to comfortably share their feelings with trained volunteers who understand their needs,” said Douglas.

For additional information or to register for the training, interested individuals may contact AHCH Volunteer Services at 777-7740 or 1-800-482-7412, ext. 1281. For more information on AHCH, visit www.ahch.org.