Subsidized Grief Care for Children in Calgary

Many people believe that childhood grief is uncommon; however, research estimates that 1 in 12 children will lose a parent or sibling by the age of 18 (Canadian Alliance for Children’s Grief). While grief is a normal response to loss, unsupported grief can have long-term traumatic consequences on a child’s development.

The Children’s Grief Centre (CGC) is the only program in Southern Alberta specializing in grief support for children, teens, and their families. With expertise in end-of-life and grief counselling, the CGC programs and services are available for families with children and teens ages 5-19 when they need it most. Our goal is to ensure these families have access to barrier-free grief counselling services and support through the CGC.

Children grieve differently and often require specialized supports to help them process their emotions, understand their loss, and find healthy ways to cope with the changes in their lives. Grieving teens, in particular, are at high risk for developing dangerous coping skills, including drug and alcohol abuse, skipping school and other unhealthy coping behaviors. When they have access to individual counselling and group support, all age groups show positive outcomes, including improved emotional and mental well-being.

We know that when there is a loss in a family, it often also means sudden changes in household finances. These changes likely will not be reflected in most low-income tests. As a result, we do not “means test” clients and trust families to indicate what they can pay based on their financial circumstances.

All CGC Services are offered on a sliding scale, and no one is ever turned away or refused services based on inability to pay. For those families who pay a fee to receive support, these funds are reinvested into CGC to ensure our continued efforts to provide all children, teens, and families with the grief support they deserve. However, the increasing absence of these fees means we must seek additional help from our community partners like you.

We would like to invite the Field Law community to consider investing in subsidized comprehensive grief care in the Children’s Grief Centre.

When facing the death of a family member, our clients report that their financial situation is the highest additional stressor in their lives. All fees are calculated on a sliding scale based on family income. No one is refused services because of inability to pay.  In our last fiscal year, 68% of client fees were fully subsidized. With the continued rising cost of living, we expect the need for access to free and subsidized counselling to increase.