Albany community mourns second child who fell through Washington Park lake ice
North Albany Middle School is trying to navigate the loss of now two classmates after a terrible tragedy at Washington Park in Albany.
As NewsChannel 13 has been reporting, two children fell through the ice on Saturday.
The two kids were friends and were playing in the park on Saturday afternoon. A 12-year-old boy first slipped and fell through the ice. An 11-year-old girl went through the ice while trying to save him, according to investigators.
Clinicians with Northern Rivers are providing counseling for students at the North Albany Middle School.
Katri Noble-Johnson, Northen Rivers Senior Director for Behavioral Health, is overseeing the crisis response for North Albany students.
Parents should just be with their children, and available when they are ready to talk, she said.
“It’s important for kids to still eat, to sleep, to play, to get time to exercise and maybe be outside and certainly to attend school,” said Noble-Johnson. “It’s OK to feel like things are not OK while you’re still going through the things that are important to keep you healthy and safe during the day.”
Noble-Johnson also wants to stress the importance of keeping kids off the phones when they’re grieving. They could start to feel overloaded, she said.