#childrengrievetoo #childhoodbereavement
All of us at The Guardian Project in Arklow were delighted with the response to our weekend event, marking Ireland’s first National Children’s Grief Awareness Day. I’m a founder and director of the project, and we hosted an information morning for parents, family, teachers, coaches, and all those involved in the care of young people in the community.
The Guardian Project provides a safe and caring space for children affected by parental loss or separation. So we know all too well that bereavement and loss can effect children and young people in a variety of ways, and that many children believe they are alone in their experience. It can be hard for them to open up about their feelings and to adequately express these feelings. Often they are reluctant to burden a parent who is also grieving with their own loss, and so it can be helpful to have someone else to turn to.
The aim of the information seminar was to address this. Our keynote speaker on the day was Brid Carroll, chairperson of the Irish Childhood Bereavement Network, who offered guidance and information on how to best and most effectively support children and young people through bereavement and loss.
On a personal note, I can only say that it was an absolute privilege to host the seminar. When we hold events like this, or even go into schools to talk to children, I always say its worthwhile if we reach only one person or one child on that day. I know with certainty that we reached many many people on Friday, who gained valuable insight into how children grieve and so can support them in the community and home.
We were also delighted with the media coverage for the event, which included:
- an advance interview on East Coast FM’s The Morning Show with Declan Meehan. Interview starts at at 10.25am here: http://www.eastcoast.fm/on-air/morningshow/listenback
- a feature on RTE’s News2Day for younger viewers. Superb piece done down at The Guardian Project in Arklow which included inteviews with children. You can view it on the Guardian Project Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/guardianproject/posts/994392267290372
Huge thanks to the RTE News2Day and East Coast FM, to our speakers, to those who attended, and to the bereaved children who shared their experiences with us on the day. If you want to find out more about the Guardian Project go to our Facebook Page here for further information. Unfortunately, our Guardian Project website is down at present and we are looking for support to re-develop it. So if you know of any web developers who would like to sponsor us with a new one, please get in touch!