We are seeing more and more young families in need of our support, including children whose parent has died under our care. But you can help. With a gift today, you can be there for grieving children by equipping them with the tools and confidence they need to cope with their loss.
Every year St Margaret’s helps more than 140 children develop their own emotional toolkit. By giving children and young people the right bereavement support where they get to play, laugh, and express themselves, we help them become more resilient about death and the experiences they have been through. We give them the tools to cope so they are in a better position to deal with grief and tackle what may lie ahead for them.
Creating a toolkit for grief to support children and young people
Our Family Support team helps families to prepare for death, like having difficult conversations that no parent wants to have with their child. And they offer bereavement support – so that young people can rebuild their lives at a time when it feels like their world has fallen apart.
One of the ways we help is by bringing children from the ages of 4-16 together for a very special weekend called Samsara. During Samsara, the children try out a range of creative activities. From arts and crafts to storytelling and outdoor activities surrounded by nature, each activity is designed to help children make sense of, and express, how they are feeling.
The children paint and decorate masks, plant bulbs into pots and write down their fears which they feed to their own worry monster (each child chooses one and takes it home). One of the most popular parts of the weekend is making and throwing mud bombs at targets – a fun way of channelling the frustration and anger that is often felt during the grieving process. By the end of the two days, the children leave equipped with an emotional toolkit.
We cover difficult topics, so it’s important that the children get to spend time playing and finding moments of calm to reflect. They get to ask questions about their parent’s illness to help them understand what happened. And, a significant but not easy moment is when everyone introduces a photo of their loved one to the group. If you’ve lost someone in your life, you’ll know how important it is to remember them.
With a donation today, you can help more young people face the future with a sense of confidence and hope.
Whatever you can afford will make a real difference, giving hope to children whose young lives have been devastated by the death of a parent.
We are so grateful for your support. Thank you so much.
