The death of a parent or close relative can be devastating for a child and have a big impact on their life in both the short and long term. They can experience profound grief, anger, anxiety, a loss of confidence and feel isolated. The bereaved family can suffer from a break-down in communication as no-one wants to talk about the death for fear of upsetting others. Longer term, they are more likely to suffer mental health problems and engage in high risk activities such as drug/alcohol abuse.

Our Family Groups bring together bereaved young people who have all experienced the death of a loved one. They realise that they are not alone and feel less isolated. The Family Groups help them understand what has happened, handle their emotions, develop coping strategies and learn how to communicate about their loss. The families find that they can now talk about the person that has died and share positive memories - this rebuilds family relationships that have often deteriorated.