Charity for grieving kids needs new home
A charity supporting children who have experienced the death of a parent is calling on the community for help as it searches for a larger home. Wombat’s Wish is expanding and needs a new location to operate new programs and counselling services.
It is currently based in Drysdale and is looking for a new home, whether cohabited or solo, or fully or partially donated, in the Geelong region. Wombat’s Wish chairwoman Casey Kaminskyj said one in 20 Australian children experienced the death of a parent before their 18th birthday. She said a new space would allow the charity to continue providing vital services in a safe environment.
“As we expand our services to meet the growing needs of our community, we bear the entire cost, and we incur all cost increases ourselves,” she said.
“We do not receive any government funding and rely solely on the generosity of others for all of our support services and administrative costs.”
Ms Kaminskyj said the loss of a parent was extremely difficult for children.
She said the service provided a weekend grief program for children and the surviving parent or carer, oneon-one counselling support, online support lounges, family days and resources for schools and GP visits at no cost to the families or children.
“We assist bereaved children to find a way to live with loss and grief, move forward and take the next steps on their bereavement journey,” she said.
Kat Dunell and her three children began using the services at Wombat’s Wish after their husband and dad Brett Smith died in 2022.
She said the family first went on a camp with a charity in November and it was great to meet and connect with other children who had suffered the loss of a parent.
“I think so much with kids is they just want to feel normal, fit in with their peers and not be the kid whose dad died of cancer,” she said.
“The good thing is it is something we will be able to dip in and out off, we attended their Christmas party, my eldest girls will attend the youth camp later this year and they’ve just started online lounges so I have done one and my son will join one (soon).
“I think it is just a great service we can use when we need.”
Ms Dunell said one thing she had come to understand was the grief would never go away, it would just change.
“For the children, it will come and go at different periods in their life and (they) process things as they mature, so I am grateful we have this service in Geelong and have made a lovely connection with people who run it,” she said.
“There’s nothing like this in Australia, we are so lucky to have this in Geelong, so it would be quite scary if it was to go.”