Good Grief has launched the Good Grief Hub, a diverse library of resources relating to grief, bereavement and loss along with a directory of organisations currently offering support in the UK. Visit the Good Grief Hub here.
St Francis Hospice’s social work team developed this book to help children aged about 9-12, with the support of their parent or guardian, navigate their way through grief and loss. With support from AWS in Communities, this book is available free of charge to anyone who might find it helpful. It is also available as an ebook: Always in my Heart
As a national leader in the development of bereavement care, the Irish Hospice Foundation are working in collaboration with bereavement care providers and charities to provide information, resources and programmes for individuals, families, communities and workplaces.
Care Alliance Ireland have developed The Way Ahead which aims to support former carers as they enter a new phase in their lives. The booklet outlines options for returning to paid work, volunteering or further education, as well as online supports and counselling services. The booklet is available free of charge to organisations and to former family carers.
Looking after someone may be a large part of your life, but it is inevitable that your caring role will change over time. This may be because the person you cared for has recovered and no longer needs care, they can no longer be cared for at home, or because they have died. Whatever your situation, it is important to realise that you are not alone. It will be difficult, but you can find help and support. ‘When caring ends or changes’ is for carers who are experiencing significant change in their lives. It outlines the support available and the steps you can take to help you through each situation.
Irish Hospice Foundation support pages including information, resources and supports for you and those you care about who may be grieving.
It can be a confusing time following a death and difficult to know what you need to do first, especially if this is the first time you are experiencing it. There are many procedures that will need to be undertaken. What needs to happen first will depend on the circumstances of the death and whether the person died in hospital, at home, a public place or overseas. This will also affect the type of documentation that you will be given.
‘The Final Journey’ Reflective Memoir has been created by Sabina Mason, who worked as a nurse within an Intensive Care Unit. The memoir is designed for people to write about their experience of someone close to them dying. The end of life is a traumatic experience and grieving is a highly individual experience; there’s no right or wrong way to grieve. Inevitably, the grieving process and healing process takes time. The memoir journal is used to bridge the gap between your loss and how they are feeling right now. Did you make sense of the death or loss at the time?” and “How do you interpret the loss now?” As writer Tara DaPra eloquently observes in her essay “Writing Memoir and Writing for Therapy:” “Perhaps the only recompense for tragedy—for death and loss of innocence—is the chance to create some measure of beauty. The marvel of a well-crafted sentence—finding just the right diction and syntax—is a small triumph over pain, a way to create order in the world.” Inside the memoir journal a photo can be inserted and through writing about your feelings it will guide you to answer some questions you might have. You will find poems, as it can also offer a way of coming to terms with your loss. People can write to their deceased loved ones in total privacy, or opt to share their writing with family and close friends.
Follow this link to download a free copy of the Barnardo’s free e-book which is a guide for parents and carers of children under 6 who have been bereaved. (Published 2015).
The impact of losing someone close to you can be devastating and can leave you struggling with grief. Carers UK have provided some guidance to help, covering some of the emotional challenges as well as the practical aspects of dealing with a bereavement. It is important to know that there is help and support available to help you cope during this very difficult time.
This booklet from Marie Curie is for any adult who is supporting a child or young person when someone close to them is living with a terminal illness. Whether you are a parent, another family member or close friend, we understand that it can feel difficult to know how to support children when someone is ill.
This book was written by the social work team of St Francis Hospice Dublin in collaboration with bereaved teenagers, who speak in the book about what helped them in their grief. It is the first book in the Irish context designed as a resource for young people themselves to use as they navigate their way through bereavement and loss.
