The Children's Grief Centre is planning to double the number of children it can help with the formal opening of a new premises in Limerick.
The centre provides a listening and support service for children who have been bereaved, and those whose parents have separated.
Since it was founded 14 years ago by Sr Helen Culhane, it has helped over 2,000 children who have travelled from all over the country to seek help.
Sr Helen says the need is great when it comes to dealing with the grief of children who have lost a loved one close to them, and those children who are in the midst of a family whose parents are separating or divorcing.
She and her volunteers have worked hard to ensure they could have a specially dedicated centre now open in Limerick city.
"My own congregation the Mercy order, gifted me a building on the grounds of Scoil Carmel, known as The Mount in Limerick and we have spent €3.5 million upgrading it into a specially designed light filled building, with five dedicated rooms where children can come and where we can listen to them and help them express how they are feeling," Sr Helen said.
"We are a non-counselling listening service primarily. Grief is very different for children. Because of their stage of development, they cannot find the words to express how they are feeling, they cannot name it.
"They are deeply traumatised when they are bereaved, and we all want to fix them. But you cannot fix children, but we offer them support by listening to them and listening deeply, because they is what they tell us they need," she said.
Caoilinn Cahill from Co Clare was just ten when she lost her much loved brother Oisin in a road crash.
She was very close to her brother and struggled a lot with deep sadness until she came to the centre. She said a lot of young people feel very isolated and alone because they do not want to upset their families by talking about it at home.
"I didn't know how I was feeling except that I just wanted to internalise it," she said.
"I was very young and I was struggling a lot. I didn't want to upset everyone at home, as they were already so upset as well.
"I was actually very scared when I came first. But Sr Culhane made me feel very welcome, very safe and comfortable talking about how I was feeling.
"I didn't ever know how to put words on how I was feeling, but through a number of interventions they use like art, working with sand and clay, and with letters and workbooks, they mange to get you talking about how you are feeling, but also how to deal with those feelings.
"I would say to any teenager or young person they are not alone. There is fantastic support here, and I wouldn't be anywhere without them, I'd probably still be locked away in my room, still struggling."
Olive Foley sought help for her two boys when their father Anthony Foley, the former Munster and Ireland rugby player, died suddenly seven years ago.
She is now Ambassador for the service and has worked over recent years to highlight the work of the Children's Grief Centre in offering support to children.
"My little lads were aged just 11 and eight when their father died suddenly, and it was the suddenness of it that was so shocking," Ms Foley said.
"They were able to come in here and express how they were feeling. One of the difficulties is that they want to protect the other parent, and not upset them. Here they have the language for children, they have a way of explaining things.
"Grief is an awful experience for children, but they can survive it. And it's not just loss because of death. The pain of parental separation is different, but can be equally as painful, and the centre is expert in that work as well.
"They have the tools here and one of the simplest ways of helping children is by listening and speaking to them.
"I have worked closely with Sr Helen and my role as ambassador is to raise awareness of the work of the centre and it's a roll I absolutely treasure," she added.
The service was helping up to 50 children a week. With the expansion of the service in the new dedicated centre, the long term aim is to double that up to 100 children a week.
"The demand is there, and growing," Sr Helen said.
"There are children coming from all over the country to seek help with us. And look at all the loss we have seen among young people and their families and communities in recent times.
"Really every single county should have a children's grief service like ours, and we hope that will happen one day."
