My six year old daughter has been finding it difficult to deal with the loss of her big sister , finding out that there was other children in the same situation had really helped her and also both my wife and myself realising that we are not alone. Anonymous
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Bereavment Camp Introduction
The bereavement weekends at Barretstown offer families who have lost a child through serious illness a supportive environment. Within this environment they can spend quality time together, find support, share their experience of loss and find ways to look to the journey ahead.
The camp runs from Thursday to Sunday. Volunteers arrive for 9am Thursday morning for training and team-building before the families arrive. It is a three camp cycle with camps at 6 monthly intervals and we encourage our volunteers to complete the cycle with the families. Volunteers are assigned to work with a family for the weekend and also an activity group. New volunteers are paired with a returning volunteer for guidance.
The bereavement component of the weekend is 5 hours, spread over the weekend, and includes reflection, celebration of life (both are quiet times with music, candles and words lasting 30-40 minutes), and age appropriate group bereavement sessions.
A movie is also shown on the first night of each camp. Volunteer participation in the bereavement component is optional. These sessions are facilitated by a Bereavement therapist.
