The Irish Childhood Bereavement Network is organising a series of events across Ireland for Bereaved Children’s Awareness Week 2020. These events are hosted in recognition of the support bereaved children need and provides a platform for their voices to be heard.

This video, put together by the ICBN, provides information on how to support grieving children.

A webinar entitled ‘Children Express Grief Differently, Help Them Find Their Way…‘ is aimed at adults supporting grieving children. This webinar will be held on Monday, 23 November from 7:30 – 8:30 p.m. Brid Carroll will be the main speaker on the night and will talk about the process of grief and the ways we can support grieving children. She will also share some simple and practical ways to help children express their emotions and talk about hard feelings. Register for this FREE webinar on Eventbrite.

An open lecture entitled ‘What Social Care Workers Need to Know About Children and Grief‘ will be delivered by Jennifer Moran Stritch from Limerick Institute of Technology on Monday, 23 November from 12 – 1 p.m. Jennifer is part of the teaching team for the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland/Irish Hospice Foundation MSc in Bereavement Studies and has guest lectured at Maynooth University, National University of Ireland – Galway, Mary Immaculate College Limerick and University of Limerick Graduate Entry Medical School. Having trained as a social worker in the United States, she is a frequent speaker and workshop facilitator in Ireland and internationally on death education and experiences of loss across the lifespan. Jennifer is the director of the Loss and Grief Research group at LIT. Register for this FREE lecture on Eventbrite.

 

CREATIVE CONNECTIONS

Jacinta’s Smile will be participating in Bereaved Children’s Awareness Week by hosting Creative Connections. These are online meetings grouping 7 – 10 year olds, 11 -14 year olds, and 15 – 17 year olds together. They bring children who have experienced all forms of loss (sibling, parent, grandparent, etc.) together in a safe space by leveraging their experience to build resilience and encourage positivity. Our next Creative Connection session will be held on Saturday, 28th November and Sunday, 29th November. Join us in a professionally facilitated Zoom session led by Chiara Clear, registered music therapist with a Master’s degree in Music Therapy from the University of Melbourne, Australia. You can register for the sessions on Eventbrite. We look forward to having fun making music, inspiring others through the songs we choose to write and unlocking the beauty and emotional intelligence that resonates deep within each of us!