The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Fife woman who lost parents at young age backing grief support
CAMPAIGN: Bid to help children who experience loss at very young age
The cruelty of losing not just one but both parents when you are a child is a horrifying thought for most people.
But that’s exactly what happened to Audrey Holligan by the time she was just seven years old.
The bereavement charity volunteer, who works for Cruse Scotland, was inspired to help children cope with grief after losing her mother and father, and another close relative, at a young age.
Now the mum-of-one is backing a new Grief Awareness Campaign, launched by leading personal injury firm Watermans, which is aimed at highlighting the impact sudden fatalities can have on a young person’s life.
Audrey, 54, told how her mother had died of a brain haemorrhage when she was just 18 months old and her father of the same condition when she was seven.
Audrey, who has worked as a children and young person’s grief support worker at Cruse for three years now, said: “Sadly, most of my family had died by the time I turned 12. I always knew even back then that I’d always want to work for a charity like Cruse so that I could give something back.
“You can never fix grief but if you can help a child to make a difference in their own lives then that’s huge.
“Having gone through counselling myself after my relatives died, it was a natural progression to then volunteer and try and help other children who suffer from grief,” Audrey added.
At the age of 14, Audrey, who was born in Edinburgh and grew up in Dunfermline, began working at a youth club helping children from troubled backgrounds. She later took up studies to become a psychologist, which has also led to her involvement in script work for the BBC children’s channel Cbeebies.
“Death wasn’t something people spoke about as much back when my parents died but I think today people are more aware of how to deal with grief.
“What we are trying to do is normalise the situation for a grieving child through music, activities, play, sport – anything that the child will connect to really.”
Some of the key signs Audrey advises to look out for when a child is struggling include a child isolating, concentration affected, phobias, changes in play, a pre-occupation with death, self-harm, becoming clingy and other mental health issues.
“Death wasn’t something people spoke about as much back when my parents died but I think today people are more aware of how to deal with grief.
AUDREY HOLLIGAN