Lionheart’s new Raw to Roar program helps families experiencing palliative care and bereavement

Lionheart Camp for Kids (Lionheart), a WA based not-for-profit organisation working with grieving children and teens (5 to 17 years), and their families has a new program. Raw to Roar, Lionheart’s Grief Pathway, is designed to help families experiencing palliative care and bereavement.

Raw to Roar: Lionheart’s Grief Pathway provides free, tailored one-to-one support for families after the death of a loved one, with support available also for families impacted by a terminal illness.

Founder and CEO Shelly Skinner said grief was a normal and healthy response to the loss of someone, something or someplace but what we don’t all know are ways we can understand, manage and grow through grief.

“Many of us have a bucket load of less-than-ideal coping strategies and not as many healthy, resilient coping strategies in our toolbox,” Shelly said.

At Lionheart:

• Children develop a strong and full toolkit of healthy skills and strategies to manage grief and other life challenges.
• Teens learn how to manage the push and pull of becoming their own person while dealing with intense grief and needing the support of loved ones – even when they don’t really want it.
• Adults are assisted to support their children’s grief while trying to manage their own, navigate the practicalities of death and bereavement and connect with others who have experienced the death of a family member – and so much more.

“With approximately 1 in 20 Australian children experiencing the death of a parent or sibling during childhood, and youth mental illness at an all-time high, we need to get this support right,” Shelly said.

“With somewhere between 30,000 and 50,000 WA children trying to manage acute grief at any one time it is essential we minimise the immediate and long-term adverse outcomes for bereaved children and families.  By addressing grief early and effectively, through education, peer support, and resilience-building, Lionheart can assist children, teens and families to navigate the tricky waters of grief.”

See the brochure HERE for more information and please share the details of this WA pilot program with others in your network who you think would benefit.  Shelly is also available to visit and talk about our program with you or your team.

For more information on Lionheart programs and how to refer a child or family, please visit HERE or phone 0481 199 758.

Lionheart aims to ensure that no child grieves alone and every grieving family receives the compassionate care they deserve through their difficult times.

Two recent Lionheart research papers regarding children and death, grief and bereavement are below:

staniland-et-al-2023-best-practice-in-telephone-bereavement-support-a-thematic-analysis-of-bereavement-support

What bereaved children want to know about death and grief 2024