BBC Children in Need and National Lottery cash to provide vital grieving support for bereaved Highland and Moray children thanks to Archie Foundation
Grieving children in the Highlands are to be given extra emotional support at a devastating time in their lives, after the Archie Foundation secured vital funds.
The charity, which provides support for more than 300 grieving children every year, has been awarded more than £212,000 in grants from the BBC’s Children in Need and the National Lottery to fund four additional support workers who will help local children who have suffered a bereavement.
The money will be used to cover two workers within the Archie Child Bereavement Service in the Highlands, while another two will also be funded in Aberdeenshire.
The Archie Foundation said the £107,056 funded by Children in Need for the two Highland support workers was especially welcome because “additional resources are particularly needed to cover large geographical areas”.
Indeed, before extending into the Highlands in 2022, the service often received calls from parents and carers in the area desperately seeking support for their bereaved child with limited options for support.
Meanwhile, a grant of £105,000 from the National Lottery Community Fund will cover the two new Aberdeenshire staff.
Both grants will support salary costs for the next three years.
Yvonne Banks and Jim Lyon will provide bereavement support in the Highland, while Jenny Fowler and Caitlin Parkin are the support workers for Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray.
Archie’s Child Bereavement Service started out as a committee and has expanded to include support staff and volunteers across the north of Scotland, including the far north, the west coast, Tayside and Orkney.
It has 11 members of staff with a team of 70 highly trained volunteers, supporting more than 300 children every year.
Bereavement service manager Malcolm Stewart said: “This much-needed grant funding will allow us to provide an essential service to even more children after a bereavement.
“Around 2100 parents of school-aged children die in Scotland each year, leaving around 4000 children without a parent, while many more children are bereaved of grandparents, siblings and other special people in their family and life.
“Grieving children may withdraw, isolate, act out or struggle to communicate, leading to developmental or educational milestones being impacted. We know that if a child does not receive adequate support to help adapt to life without their special person it can affect their educational attainment, have an adverse effect on their mental health and their abilities to develop and reach their full potential.
“With an extended team of dedicated workers and volunteers we are now able to reach and support even more children who have experienced loss and need some help to work through feelings which are often complex.”
The team offers a wide range of services, which are tailored to suit the individual needs of each child and their family.
Following an initial conversation by phone, the team decides how best to support the child or young person. This can range from providing specialist books to help a child understand what the death of a loved one means and to understand their emotions to craft sessions, group events and activity days.
The experienced team also offers advice on effective communication and what to say to parents to mirror what is being shared in school, as well as group and one-to-one sessions.
Laura Darling, BBC Children in Need’s grant manager in the Highlands, said it was pleased to support rural parts of Scotland.
“We’re delighted to be supporting this much needed service over the next three years,” she said. “We know that bereavement can have a huge impact on children and young people, both in the short and longer-term and, while the service is based at Raigmore, it will also reach those in more rural parts of the Highlands who we know can find it harder to access support.
“I look forward to meeting the new staff soon, and I’m sure Pudsey will look forward to meeting Archie Bear again too!”
The National Lottery Community Fund’s Scotland Chair, Kate Still said: “This November, the National Lottery celebrates its 30th birthday. For three decades, communities have come together, supporting one another and transforming lives through National Lottery funding—a truly inspiring achievement.
“National Lottery players can take pride in knowing that their contributions have helped groups like The Archie Foundation to lead more fulfilling and connected lives.”
Archie has helped children and families across the north of Scotland for 24 years, funding specialist roles and projects at Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital and, more recently, at Highland Children’s Unit, Tayside Children’s Hospital and Dr Gray’s Hospital, Elgin.
Visit www.archie.org/getsupport/ for more information about the practical, financial and emotional support available from The Archie Foundation, or https://archie.org/bereavement/ for details of Archie’s Child Bereavement Service.
