REMEMBERING IN EMOTIONAL TIMES
F or Bridget*, losing her husband after a short illness in 2015 was a tragic event, not only for her, but for her two young children. Without their father, the children struggled to get into their normal routines as they tried their best to cope with their loss. It was also the first time Bridget had lost someone so close to her and she was struggling to know how to grieve herself, let alone how to support her grieving children. To help manage and understand the grieving process, Bridget contacted AnglicareSA and enrolled her children in the Star Bear camp and then joined with a number of other parents and members of the AnglicareSA Loss and Grief team in a support session for carers. At the camp, the children spent time participating in art-based activities which are focused on remembering the person they have lost, undertaking some outdoor challenge activities which encourage the children to work together, and a question and answer time with a doctor to help them
understand more about death. On the final day of the camp, Bridget’s children released their balloons, with touching messages to their father, into the air as a special tribute to his life. Star Bear is the only program of its type in South Australia. It was established in 1999 to support grieving children following the death of a loved one and has been part of AnglicareSA’s Loss and Grief Centre since 2002. The camps aim to help children understand that grieving is a normal part of life and that it is important to be able to express their feelings. Children who participate in camps have an opportunity to share and talk about the person they have lost. Many children who go on camp have never had the opportunity to talk with other children who have also lost someone, and this helps to normalise their feelings. The camps also help children and families talk and share more about the person they have lost. *Not her real name
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THE CAMPS AIM TO HELP CHILDREN UNDERSTAND THAT GRIEVING IS A NORMAL PART OF LIFE AND THAT IT IS IMPORTANT TO BE
ABLE TO EXPRESS THEIR FEELINGS.
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page 10 — News about AnglicareSA, Spring 2016
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