Bear Us In Mind - Psychological Toolkits

BEAR US IN MIND IS RAISING MONEY TO EQUIP ADULTS WITH TOOLS TO SUPPORT CHILDREN COPING WITH SEPARATION, LOSS OR BEREAVEMENT. 

Please see our website for more information - www.bearusinmind.org.uk - and follow us on social media - @bearusinminuk

After the outbreak of war in Ukraine in early 2022, we all saw how the resulting conflict impacted tens of thousands of children through separation, loss and bereavement. Bear Us In Mind was launched to equip adults with the tools to support children coping with separation, loss or bereavement. It has been founded by Julie Stokes OBE, an expert in palliative care and Founding Patron of children’s charity Winston’s Wish. Working alongside Julie, to put her vision into action is our Lead Clinician, Debbie Redfearn, Project Coordinator, Eloise Gordon Lennox, and Co-founding Patron, Janet Richmond.

Beyond Bear Us In Mind’s more urgent need for those impacted by the war in Ukraine, it offers resources for children everywhere and in any circumstance; whether it’s a result of conflict, bereavement, separation, bullying or abuse, or any of the multiple factors that can impact a child’s mental health.

We are seeking further donations to continue to create more psychological toolkits for refugee families arriving in the UK, develop our existing tools, and provide further expert training. 

Our eight physical tools are all accompanied by online training videos and worksheets - available on our website. These have been expertly curated as creative interventions for parents and host families, to help children process their grief and trauma. With your help we can supply a family with a toolkit for just £100. 

Families can also build their own toolkit! As the numbers are so great, we have provided all our resources online, so that they are accessible for all people, all over the world, to download and access. 

For children who are bereaved, we will also be translating Julie’s book, ‘You Will Be Okay' (our eighth tool), which acts as a mini toolkit for children coping with a death in their family.

Our hope is that when the children reach a place of safety here in the UK with their host family, that our practical psychological toolkit will be on hand to give adults supporting them simple and safe ways to help with separation, loss and for some a bereavement.

In war time this is a complex project and copies will need to be distributed freely across European countries where the children may be staying as refugees. We will therefore need to equip volunteers with the high-quality resources required to help these children as a matter of urgency.

If you are able to support our work - whether by funding a single book, buying a pack for a family or helping us scale up the project at speed - please donate now. Every donation helps and will enable a genuinely positive impact on displaced children from all over the world.