Pilot Project
About the Pilot Project
Sandy Bear Children’s Bereavement Charity supporting children and young people affected by death of a loved one through suicide
Sandy Bear Children’s Bereavement Charity has been awarded funding by Welsh Government to launch a pilot project into Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire to support children and young people who are suffering following a bereavement through suicide.
This funding has stemmed from the National Bereavement Support Grant, following the launch by Welsh Government of the National Framework for the Delivery of Bereavement Care in Wales. The framework supports those commissioning or providing bereavement services, to ensure that good quality provision is available to those who need it.
Our pilot project will support up to 16 children and young people (aged 5-18) who live in Ceredigion/Carmarthenshire. The project will give children and young people access to both 1:1 and peer support, both led by experienced child bereavement practitioners.
Our aim is to help children, young people, and families to move beyond the painful memories and thoughts linked to the death, and to help children and young people feel involved and understand better what has happened to them. In time, we hope they will remember their special person’s life more than the way in which they died.
Referrals of children and young people (5-18) into our Pilot Project
If you are concerned about the health and wellbeing of a child or young person in Carmarthenshire or Ceredigion, grieving from a death through suicide, our pilot project is open for referrals.
Before referral, you will need to have consent from the child or young person’s guardian.
Please download our referral form linked below and complete the information requested. You can download/view the forms as PDF or Word (.docx) files.
Email completed forms to referrals@sandybear.co.uk
Please note that we do not accept referrals without a referral form.
Important – what happens after a referral
You (the referrer) will be contacted to acknowledge receipt of the referral. You will be contacted again when the child or young person has been discharged from the service after receiving appropriate support.
A bereavement practitioner will make direct contact with the family to find more about their situation, and to explain how Sandy Bear can provide appropriate support in line with the needs of the child or young person.
Volunteers
Volunteers play a crucial role in service delivery at Sandy Bear Children’s Bereavement Charity…without them, our work would not be possible.
We need 6 volunteers to support our pilot, willing to travel to a location based in Ceredigion or Carmarthenshire. Each individual will need to commit 24 hours over 6 weeks to change the lives of bereaved children and young people through suicide.
We will train our volunteers with the essential skills they will need to support bereaved children, young people, and their families. Volunteers will be facilitators, supporting children and young people in peer group sessions, that are led by skilled child bereavement practitioners.
If you are part of an organisation working with children and young people and would like to volunteer as part of workforce development, we will be able to train even more members of staff, absolutely free!
If you would like to volunteer for this important pilot project, more information can be found here:
Sandy Bear Pilot Project – Volunteering
We are fortunate to have a great team of volunteers in Pembrokeshire, who provide their time for a variety of reasons – because of lived experience, to learn new skills or simply to give something back to a cause that they can feel passionate about.
When we talk to our volunteers about why they keep coming back, they tell us it allows them to:
- Make a big difference in the life of a child or young person and their family
- Meet new people and become part of a special community
- Develop their knowledge and skills
- Gain experience and a new perspective
- To be a champion for children’s rights
If you have any further questions, please contact us on 01437 700272 and a member of the team will be in touch.
