Celia Hammond (Curtin, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The loss of a family member brings an immeasurable amount of grief to those left behind. Grief is a natural, healthy response to loss but sometimes it can be hard to understand, particularly for children. Lionheart Camp for Kids is a bereavement program that supports grieving children and adolescents from age 5 through to 17 and the families that care for them. Early life development is an important social determinant of health and it strongly influences the lives we lead later in life. Lionheart's two-day camps are free of charge for families to attend and aim to support emotional literacy, help children to find meaning and teach strategies for resilience. They provide an opportunity to connect with other children experiencing grief and enable parents to develop skills to support their grieving children.

The five stages of grief are well known: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Lionheart considers learning to live with loss as the sixth stage and aims to help children to identify grief as a chapter in their story but not the title of their book. I thank Shelly Skinner, an inspiring resident in my electorate, and all at Lionheart for the support they provide bereaved families and for providing a safe space for children to be children.