Your well-being is the most important element in what we do: support. The retreat, and all it offers, is the best life training offered anywhere for persons living with the ambiguous loss of a child or adult loved one.

We all know the difficulties we face in this situation. We know the emotions and the frustrations. None of us knows how long this journey will last, so it’s important that we do all that we do what we can to keep ourselves mentally, physically, and spiritually strong for the day we have our answers. These are the Keys to Healing, the keys to help you face each day without your missing loved one.

Sessions will be conducted by professional instructors, including a licensed counselor, personal trainer, dietician, missing person advocate, massage therapist, and a minister of faith.  Attendees will learn how trauma affects the body, how to address that trauma, and how to recognize and handle emotions such as guilt, fear and anger that come into play. There will also be a session designed to answer the question of “How do I go on?”

We are honored with the return of our 2009 core instructor, Duane Bowers, LPC, the nation’s foremost traumatic loss therapist and educator. Among his many services to families dealing with grief is providing support to families of abducted, missing, exploited and murdered children through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and to families of missing persons of any age through Project Jason’s Healing Harbor. Bowers is the author of “Guiding Your Family Through Loss and Grief” and “A Child is Missing: Providing Support for Families of Missing Children.”

Class descriptions and pricing will be announced at a later date. Pricing will be determined by any grants, corporate or private sponsorships received prior to the opening of registration for the event in 2010. Project Jason’s goal is to keep the price as low as possible, with the ultimate goal of being able to offer the retreat at no charge.

The Keys to Healing will again take place at the Swanson Center, a spacious, comfortable, and scenic retreat center near Omaha, NE. The entire center has been booked to ensure the most private and peaceful of experiences for the attendees.

I have been blessed during the eight years since Jason’s disappearance to have had a good support system, faith for the journey, and training to gain an understand of what is happening inside me and how to handle a variety of situations as they come along. I have learned to laugh again and experience joy, while at the same time keeping the search for my son active. I could not possibly box up what I learned and send it to you, but I can give it to you in the Keys to Healing retreat.

So, this is my gift to you from me and Project Jason. I hope you’ll be able be able to join us.  

Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
President and Founder,
Project Jason
www.projectjason.org
Help us find the missing: Become an AAN Member
http://www.projectjason.org/awareness.html

All missing persons are loved by someone, and their families deserve to find the answers they seek in regards to the disappearance.

To watch the video from the 2009 Keys to Healing Retreat, go to

Click on the photo above to view a photo slideshow from the 2009 retreat

Information and class descriptions from the 2009 retreat: http://projectjason.org/forums/index.php?topic=2893.0