ROAD TRAFFIC deaths account for the biggest group of people seeking help from Anam Cara since the support group for bereaved parents was established in 2008.
Its chief executive, Sharon Vard, said deaths outside a hospital setting, such as road traffic crashes, were particularly difficult for parents because they could slip through the net of support that is on offer when a child dies in hospital.
An estimated 1,950 families lose a son or daughter every year in Ireland. Anam Cara has provided services for more than 1,545 parents since its establishment, through meetings, professional talks, family events and its online forum.
Ms Vard said almost six out of 10 Irish people directly knew a family who had lost a child, and every death was felt far and wide in the community.
She set up Anam Cara with other bereaved parents after her daughter, Rachel, died and she found that there was no specific support service for bereaved parents.
She said the group wanted to tell parents that the pain would lessen as they learned how to live their lives around the loss.
“Every day we get up and put our feet on the floor we are healing, but it’s so minute you’d hardly notice it.”
HSE bereavement therapist Peter Hanlon said Anam Cara was “a beacon of hope for people who think that there is no point, that there is no future and that their world is forever black”.
This month, Anam Cara is trying to raise awareness by selling “A Balloon to Remember” pins from outlets such as McCabe’s pharmacies, Smyth’s toy stores, Eddie Rocket’s restaurants and local shops.
On November 2nd, All Souls Day, Anam Cara will release thousands of balloons in Tullamore, Co Offaly, in memory of all the children who have died in Ireland.
RTÉ broadcaster Miriam O’Callaghan is the ambassador for the awareness campaign. She said Anam Cara had brought together parents who were connected by an incredible loss.
“In Ireland today we spend so much of our time in negativity, worrying about things that really, really don’t matter,” she said. “What matters in life is the health of ourselves and our children.”
Friends and family of those who have died can leave a dedication to them in Anam Cara’s book of remembrance at anamcara.ie
