We provide information and support for children and young people when someone in their family is seriously ill or has died.
Young People’s Service
Helping children and young people to cope with their worries
The St Gemma’s Young People’s Service arranges all kinds of fun activities for children of all ages to help them cope with their feelings and worries.
For more information about the service, please contact the young people’s team on 0113 218 5500 or email familysupportteam@st-gemma.co.uk
What we do
Talk about difficult feelings
We meet with children, young people and their families and talk openly and honestly about difficult feelings.
We can meet families together and also offer one-to-one counselling for a child or young person.
Organise activity days
We sometimes do activities such as artwork or an activity book, which can help us to talk about the person who is ill or has died.
Sometimes groups of children and young people meet together for these activities and to talk about how things are.
Days out with the children
Group days out help the children and young people we support to make friends with others experiencing bereavement in a more informal relaxed setting.
The Cabin
Our purpose-built, child-friendly space in the Hospice gardens has a big area for group activities and play therapy like messy art and sand play, a kitchen for cooking sessions, and racks to display the children’s paintings.
The space is also used for ‘memory days’ when the children make something that reminds them of their loved one who died and talk about their grief and has a smaller, quiet room for counselling.
I really liked meeting other children in the same situation as me – it made me feel like it was ok to be sad, but things would get better.
A child we support
Top tips to look after yourself
Looking after yourself is very important, even though you might not feel like it. Here are some ideas that can help you to cope:
- Talk to family members and friends about the special person
- Ask questions
- Find ways of expressing your feelings (you could write a diary, a poem or draw a picture)
- Talk to other people if you need help or support
- Start a memory box or folder to put things in to help build memories about the special person
- Write a card to the special person
- Look after yourself by exercising and eating well
- Ask for help in school or college
- Do a fun activity
Feelings
These are some words that can help you to express what you are feeling:
Pressurised
Upsetting
Lonely
Angry
Jealous
Stressful
Depressed
Glossary
After someone special has died, you might hear some words being used that you haven’t heard before. Here are some useful definitions:
Bereavement is the time after someone has died.
Death is when someone has died and their body has stopped working.
Funeral and Cremation
A funeral is a time when people who knew the dead person get together to remember and say goodbye to them. As part of the funeral the body
is either buried in a coffin or cremated (this means the body is burnt).
Grief is the sad thoughts and feelings you have after someone has died.
Hospice is a place where people can visit or stay when they are seriously ill. Some people do die at the hospice, the hospice tries to make them comfortable and stop as much pain as possible.
Terminal Illness is an illness where people will try to help them with their pain but sadly they won’t get better.
Useful websites
These are all websites that have more information about losing someone special as a child or young adult: