WATCH Children’s Grief Centre celebrate 15 years of providing essential support

Children’s Grief Centre celebrate 15 years of providing essential support. The centre’s reach has expanded significantly over the years and now hosts up to 80 appointments weekly. Picture: Olena Oleksienko/ilovelimerick

Children’s Grief Centre celebrate the incredible milestone of 15 years support children to navigate the challenges of loss and grief

Founded in 2009 by Sister Helen Culhane, the Children’s Grief Centre has supported children for 15 years between the ages of 4 and 18 who have experienced loss due to death, separation, or divorce.

The Centre which has been in its new building at the John Henry Newman Campus at Mary Immaculate College since September 2023 has become a pillar in Limerick’s community by creating a safe space for children to process their emotions.

Support is offered through one-on-one sessions tailored to each child’s unique healing journey with staff saying there is no set amount or limit to the number of sessions a child can attend, this ensures the care provided adapts to the child’s evolving needs.

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Mairead O’Keefe, CEO of Children’s Grief Centre told I Love Limerick, “The centre was founded in 2009 by Sister Helen Culhane, with her vision and mission of meeting the needs of children who’ve been bereaved. That was 15 years ago, and today we’re based here in a beautiful centre in O’Connell Avenue, we continue to work on a one-to-one basis with children between the ages of 4 and 18 who have experienced a loss in their life.

“The services we offer are one-to-one support with children who’ve been bereaved; children come here and they’re seen by a support worker in one of the support worker rooms.”

The centre’s reach has expanded significantly over the years and now hosts up to 80 appointments weekly and fundraising plays an important role in being able to provide the service, Carol Fitz-Gough, Fundraising and Events Manager explained, “We have to raise €480,000, just half a million, in funding to run the centre every year.  We have our own fundraising events that we run, along with the general public who very kindly take part in many events throughout the year to support us.”

She explained the service, “We run our own events every year. We put a call out over social media when we’re looking for people to get involved in those. There are also events that take place in Limerick City like the Regeneron Great Limerick Run that happens on the May Bank Holiday weekend.

“We’re not just looking for people to take part in established events, we’re looking for you to create your own events for the Children’s Grief Centre. We’re always here to support people on their fundraisers. We’re always looking for support, that never really stops.”

A significant achievement in recent years was the centre’s move into its current building, made possible by the J.P. McManus Benevolent Fund and generous public contributions and under Sister Helen’s leadership, the centre earned the 2023 Irish Health Care Award for Mental Health Initiative of the Year, a testament to its impact on the community.

Although Sister Helen retired in 2023, her vision continues to guide the centre’s work, Mairead said of Sister Helen, “Sister Helen retired as you know at the end of last year. She left a big legacy behind her and the mission and the aim will always stay the same. We are a safe, non-judgmental, caring, listening service. We don’t counsel children, because as you know, grief is something we all have which children and adults learn to live and build their lives around. So we’re not here to fix anyone, but just to support and to listen.”

Planning for the future, the group will provide workshops for people working with children, and for parents and will be linking with schools and the community regarding creating educational pieces as well as planning for an outreach service.