From the 16th-22nd of November is Children's Grief Awareness Week. Although 1 in 29 school children in the UK have lost a parent or sibling, grief is still often seen as a taboo subject. Feeling unable to talk about your bereavement can be very isolating.  When grief crashes down on you and fills you with old, new and unwanted emotions it can feel like no-one is there, no-one could ever understand what you're going through.  But from my time at Cruse I've learnt that, although no two people feel loss the same way, they can always find a common ground through their experiences.  They more often than not come away thinking "I never thought I would meet someone who understood me." 

Bottling up emotions, especially the strong emotions we feel after a loss, can deepen the feeling of isolation.  But it's alright to talk about it.  Sometimes finding a safe place to talk can be difficult and it's hard to trust someone and open up to them.  At Cruse we can provide that safe place, whether it's sending your story, creating a vlog or contacting us about talking to one of our trained volunteers. 

As a child or young person it can be hard to reach out and talk, but Cruse is there to help no matter what stage of your journey you are in.  And the good thing is, when you come to HopeAgain with your story or questions, you know you are being heard and responded to by other young people who know what it's like to walk through grief.

So let's use Grief Awareness Week to remind young people all over the world: "You are never alone."

Bridget Molloy, HopeAgain Consultant