Helping young people to say goodbye

Monday 15 June 2020

One of the island's key counselling services helping young people to deal with losing loved ones has outlined how it adapted its service during the corona virus lockdown.

Express spoke to Denise Ozanne, a Bereavement Worker for the Youth Commission's Sunflower Project, about her experience of working through the peak of the island's covid-19 crisis:

BE: What kind of services and support would you usually provide to help young people through bereavement?

DO: A lot of the Sunflower Project work is usually face to face for a family meeting and then individual sessions in schools or at The HUB.

BE: How has your role changed - what support are you currently providing and how crucial is the role of technology?

DO: Working online requires some different skills so as soon as we realised what was coming I took advantage of some excellent online workshops and tutorials.  This was a great way to see what is possible on a video or telephone call.

I have now used Zoom for some initial assessments with families.  This is an opportunity to explore the concern and start to explain a little about the grieving process.  Then I can arrange online sessions that are very similar to face to face but I have had to adapt the resources.

I think recognising that the environment is new to most people makes the glitches an opportunity for fun and learning together.

Pictured: Zoom has been used for some initial assessments with families.

BE: Are you especially concerned about young people’s mental health in the current environment? It must be difficult to mourn and process loss given the current restrictions, when it might not be possible to properly say goodbye?

DO: From the outset I was concerned about how lockdown and isolation would impact the way people grieve.  The process of saying goodbye is one of the most important elements of the grieving process and is usually a significant element of the advice from The Sunflower Project.   

The Childhood Bereavement Network has brought together all the key bereavement services across the UK to share ideas. This resource informed a speedy update of our information and advice now available. 

Anyone who is concerned about how to explain anything relating to a bereavement for a child or young person should contact the Sunflower Project that is part of the Emotional Health and Wellbeing Team at Youth Commission.

You can contact the Sunflower Project by emailing info@youthcommission.gg or calling 07781 433 838. 

To read the rest of this feature, which includes interviews with key workers across the local industry, click HERE or pick up a free physical copy of CONNECT. 

Pictured top: Denise Ozanne from The Sunflower Project.