A SOMERSET hospice has launched a project to support bereaved teenagers through outdoor activities thanks to a grant from the National Lottery Community Fund.

St Margaret’s Hospice Care has been granted £9,963 to deliver the project, which will encourage bereaved young people to communicate, explore their feelings and develop peer relationships by participating in activities including sailing, archery, and abseiling. 

Penny Moorcraft, family & patient support Therapist at St Margaret’s, said: “We are so grateful to the National Lottery Community Fund for giving us this grant so we can engage with bereaved teenagers across Somerset.

“We’ve found that it’s more difficult to get young people who are aged between 11 and 18, particularly boys, interested in accessing bereavement support and we want to change that. 

“Some boys and young men especially find it hard to talk about their feelings so, instead of sitting down with them to have a chat, we will run some different fun activities like outdoor pursuits."

These activities can act as a vehicle to make it easier for young people to talk about and process their loss, and benefit from therapeutic group work while having fun with people their age.

She added: “The teenagers who we will be engaging with will be instrumental in helping us to determine what activities we will provide.

"Whether it’s virtual reality and gaming or adventure sports and art, we will be asking the teenagers what they want to do so we can make the whole experience personal and useful to them as possible.

“We are really excited we can now get this project off the ground and are looking forward to working with bereaved young people over the next 12 months.”

The project will run over 12 months and is open to teenagers of all genders aged between 11 and 18. 

It will be specifically be targeted to young boys, who can find it difficult to talk about their feelings.