A Pembrokeshire grief charity has been campaigning on Children’s Grief Awareness Week (CGAW) to renew focus on the children who have lost a parent or carer during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The week, which goes from November 18 to 25, is to raise awareness for bereaved children and young people, and to understand the importance of the support they receive.

According to a recent custody, at least 10,000 children have been bereaved of a primary caregiver across the UK due to the pandemic.

Furthermore, more than 50,000 children have had a parent, guardian or carer die from other causes over the last 20 months.

Anita Hicks, clinical lead and co-founder at Sandy Bear, said: “It is vitally important to normalise grief in children and young people and to use appropriate words for them to clearly understand what has happened when a loved one has died. This enables them to tell the story from their own perspective and allows them to form happy memories which creates continuing bonds.

“Since the pandemic began, we have had up to 150 active referrals to support children and young people through their bereavements.”

To refer a young person, a form can be found via www.sandybear.co.uk/referrals

For further enquiries, email admin@sandybear.co.uk