Childhood Bereavement In The 21st Century Spectrums Of Support For Bereaved Children And Those Who Care For Them - Conference, Northern Ireland

Main Category: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Also Included In: Psychology / Psychiatry;  Mental Health;  Anxiety / Stress
Article Date: 12 Aug 2008 - 0:00 PDT

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NATIONAL charity Cruse Bereavement Care is calling on parents, carers and professionals working with children and young people to attend their conference on childhood bereavement on Thursday September 18, 2008 at Armagh City Hotel, Northern Ireland.

The conference, entitled "Childhood Bereavement in the 21st Century: Spectrums of Support for Bereaved Children and Those Who Care For Them", will be opened by the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People Patricia Lewsley.

Speaking ahead of the conference the Commissioner said: "Giving children and young people a voice is a key priority for me.

"Children who are bereaved are too often left out of the wider family's grieving process. I think very often we think of the adult first of all and not the young people that are involved.

"Conferences like this are about educating the adults that come into contact with those young people and showing how they can better understand what it is actually like for a young person, who is going through that grieving process.

"The work of Cruse help parents and carers understand the needs of children and young people, and help them through this traumatic time.

"We are very supportive of the conference".

Childhood Bereavement in the 21st Century, taking place at Armagh City Hotel, aims to raise community awareness and facilitate networking in the area of childhood bereavement.

Elaine Roub, Regional Co-Ordinator of Children's and Young People's Services, funded by Big Lottery, said:

"Up to 30,000 children per year are impacted by the death of someone close to them. That's a huge number of children dealing with death and loss.

"Delivering face-to-face bereavement support services to children and young people, alongside services for adults, is an integral part of Cruse's work, and a big aspect of that is supporting those adults who care for bereaved young people. There is currently a big demand for more knowledge on how to support bereaved children, and this conference addresses that need.

"The conference is for parents, carers, professionals and anyone who wants to know how they can best support children and young people who are facing the devastation of bereavement".

The Childhood Bereavement in the 21st Century conference will also launch a DVD made by a group of young people who have experienced bereavement.

"The DVD, funded by The Big Deal, is called "Ask The Experts" and it will give conference participants the chance to see what these young people have created", added Elaine.

"The young people are the experts. They are the ones who can tell us what it's like to be bereaved and what support they need".

Childhood Bereavement in the 21st Century: Spectrums of Support for Bereaved Children and Those Who Care For Them takes place on Thursday, September 18 at Armagh City Hotel.

Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People Patricia Lewsley will open the conference and Barbara Monroe, Chief Executive of St Christopher's Hospice and Chair of the Child Bereavement Network will be the keynote speaker. In addition, a range of relevant seminars will be presented by speakers from around Ireland.

For further details on the services Cruse provides information is available at http://www.cruse.org.uk and the Regional Office in Northern Ireland (t) 028 90 792419, (e) northern.ireland@cruse.org.uk

http://www.cruse.org.uk