One-to-one, family and group support
After an assessment, support is shaped around the child and the family. Group support helps children and parents realise they are not alone in their grief.
Our services · Child and young person bereavement support
HealingHeartsat Foyle Hospice
Every child grieves in their own way.
Healing Hearts is a free service for children and young people aged 4 to 18 who have been bereaved, or whose loved one has a life-limiting illness. We are based in Derry~Londonderry, and support children whatever the cause of death.
- Free of charge
- Ages 4 to 18
- Families, schools and professionals can refer
Read this page in short
- Healing Hearts is free. It is for children and young people aged 4 to 18.
- It is for children whose loved one is seriously ill, or has died, from any cause.
- Support can be one-to-one, for the whole family, or in a group.
- Children also take part in activities such as making memory bears, and family days out.
- Parents and carers, schools, GPs and nurses can ask for help.
- Michelle Kosky is the Children and Young Person’s Facilitator, working with a team of counsellors.
- Phone 028 7135 1010 or email healinghearts@foylehospice.com.
What Healing Hearts is
A safe place to grieve, at a child’s own pace
When someone close to a child is seriously ill or dies, it can be hard for children and young people to find the words. Healing Hearts gives them time, space and understanding.
We support children and young people before a bereavement, when a loved one has a life-limiting diagnosis, and after a death, including sudden or traumatic loss such as suicide, cardiac arrest or a road traffic accident. The family does not need to have been cared for by Foyle Hospice.
How we support children and families
More than talking
Memory bears
At memory bear workshops, families make a bear from the clothing of the person who died. It gives children something to hold that carries familiar fabric, texture and scent. In 2025/26 eighteen bears were made for families.
Family days and seasonal events
Family days out and seasonal events give bereaved families time to enjoy being together and to meet others who understand.
In 2025/26, thanks to funding from the Community Foundation NI, two specialist children’s counsellors joined the team to support children and young people with complex or traumatic grief. A log cabin in the hospice grounds provides extra space for Healing Hearts, adult counselling and other services.
Watch
Hear from the people who know
Anthony Fitzgerald talks about his family’s experience of Healing Hearts.
Teachers Fiona and Ciara talk about their experience of Healing Hearts.
Healing Hearts in 2025/26
A growing and steady need
111children and young people referred
18memory bears made for families
2new specialist children’s counsellors
Figures from the Foyle Hospice Annual Report 2025/26 (April 2025 to March 2026). Self-referrals and referrals from hospice teams were the most common routes into the service.
Referrals
How to refer a child or young person
Anyone can ask for help for a child or young person they care about. Referrals can come from:
- A parent or carer (self-referral)
- A district nurse
- The Foyle Hospice Community Specialist Nursing Team
- A school
- A palliative care team
- A GP
- Complete the referral form
Download the form below and post it to Michelle Kosky, Children and Young Person’s Facilitator, Healing Hearts, Foyle Hospice, 61 Culmore Road, Derry~Londonderry, BT48 8JE.
- We contact the family
When we receive the form, the team contacts the family to talk things through.
- An assessment meeting
We arrange a meeting to find out what support would help the child or young person and their family.
For parents and carers
Helping a child understand
These resources from other organisations may help you talk with a child or young person about death and grief. They open on other websites.
- Explaining to a child that someone has died (Child Bereavement UK)
- Children’s understanding of death at different ages (Child Bereavement UK, video)
- How do I explain a funeral to a young child? (Child Bereavement UK, video)
- The Invisible Suitcase (Child Bereavement UK, video)
- Let’s talk about grief: explaining death to children (My Grief Assist, video)
Questions
Things families often ask
Who is Healing Hearts for?
Children and young people aged 4 to 18 who have been bereaved, or who have a loved one who has been diagnosed with, or has died from, a life-limiting illness. Support is available whatever the cause of death.
Does it cost anything?
No. There is no cost for this service to you, your family or whoever refers you.
Did the person who died need to be cared for by Foyle Hospice?
No. The family does not need to have received care from Foyle Hospice.
Who can refer a child or young person?
A parent or carer can refer themselves, and so can a district nurse, the Foyle Hospice Community Specialist Nursing Team, a school, a palliative care team or a GP.
What kind of support is there?
After an assessment, support can be one-to-one, family support or group support. Families also take part in activities such as memory bear workshops and family days out.
What if the death was sudden or traumatic?
Healing Hearts also supports children and young people bereaved by sudden or traumatic loss, including deaths from suicide, cardiac arrest or road traffic accidents.
What happens after the referral form is sent?
The team contacts the family and arranges an assessment meeting.
How can I help my child understand what has happened?
The resources on this page from Child Bereavement UK and others explain how children understand death at different ages and how to talk to them. The Healing Hearts team can also talk it through with you.
Where we are
Care across the Western Trust
Foyle Hospice supports people across the Western Health and Social Care Trust area. The Inpatient Unit, Day Therapy and our bereavement services are at the hospice on Culmore Road, Derry~Londonderry. Our Community Specialist Palliative Care nurses work in two sectors, so that care reaches people where they live.
- Foyle Hospice, Derry~LondonderryInpatient Unit, Day Therapy, adult counselling and Healing Hearts. 61 Culmore Road, BT48 8JE. Home of our Northern Sector community team.
- Omagh Hospital and Primary Care ComplexBase for our Southern Sector community nurses supporting people at home in the Omagh area.
- South West Acute Hospital, EnniskillenBase for our Southern Sector community nurses supporting people at home across Fermanagh.
Together we care
Healing Hearts is free because our community keeps it that way
£35 could fund an hour of Healing Hearts counselling for a grieving child or young person. If you would like to help, there are many ways to give your time or support.
Child and Young Person Bereavement Support
Healing Hearts provides specialist bereavement support for any child or young person, aged 4 -18 years, who have experienced a loved one receiving the diagnosis of a life-limiting illness or death of someone close to them regardless of the cause.
Healing Hearts is a FREE Foyle Hospice service that provides specialist bereavement support for any child or young person, aged 4-18 years.
We are a child and young person counselling service specialising in Child Bereavement based in the Derry-Londonderry area of Northern Ireland.
Our children and young person’s facilitator Michelle Kosky and team of Counsellors are available to those that have experienced a death through illness, suicide, accident or sudden death.
Support is provided to any child or young person who have been bereaved despite the cause of death. The family do not need to have had a family member receive care from Foyle Hospice to avail of this service.
Check out the video below from Anthony Fitzgerald who lost his wife Helena in 2019. Their two young sons received support from our Healing Hearts service.
How do I access this service?
- Self-referral
- District nurse
- Foyle Hospice Community Specialist Nursing Team
- School
- Palliative Care Team
- General practitioner (GP)
Check out the video below from local teachers Fiona and Ciara who discuss their journey with Healing Hearts and how the service can help teachers and schools.
There is no cost for this service to you, your family or referral source.
How do I access this service?
Once an assessment has been carried out we will be able to plan the appropriate service to suit the individual needs of the child/young person who has been referred. This may include:
- One-to-one Support
- Family Support
- Group Support
Explaining death and grief to children and young people can be challenging. Below are some helpful videos that could give some guidance.
- The Invisible Suitcase from Child Bereavement UK
- Children's understanding of death at different ages from Child Bereavement UK
- Explaining to a child that someone has died from Child Bereavement UK
- Let's talk about grief - explaining death to children (condensed version 5 min) from My Grief Assist
- How do I explain a funeral to a young child from Child Bereavement UK
Post the referral form to:
Michelle Kosky
Children & Young Person’s Facilitator
61 Culmore Road
Derry/Londonderry
BT48 8JE.
On receipt of the referral we will contact the family and arrange an assessment meeting so we can decide on the best way to help the child/young person.
For further details
Contact Michelle Kosky, Children & Young Person’s Facilitator
- 028 7135 1010
- healinghearts@foylehospice.com