It is the only organization in Greece specializing in Pediatric Palliative Care at Home as well as Grief Counselling for children and their families. It provides: a) Pediatric Palliative Care at Home and Grief Counselling for children and their families, b) Childhood Bereavement Counselling Centers in Athens and Thessaloniki, and c) Psychosocial interventions following major disasters.
Merimna
“Merimna” was founded in 1995 by 9 scientists in the field of health and education, with the aim to support children and adolescents dealing with a life-threatening illness or the death of a loved one.
Support for the “SYN-DESMOI” program
The grant pertains to the support, over a 12-month period, for the Program entitled “SYN-DESMOI – Supporting the school community in the wake of the pandemic”, which is aimed at empowering educators, in order to help them understand the needs of children and adolescents and provide them with appropriate support in managing loss, bereavement and life-threatening illness, issues that are particularly acute during the COVID-19 pandemic. This distance learning program is addressed to primary and secondary school teachers and implemented in various locations nationwide, selected on the basis of necessity. The training, which incorporates features of both asynchronous and synchronous learning, includes two subject areas: “Death in the life of children and adolescents: Supporting the grieving child and the school community”, and “Support for students coping with illness”. The Program’s direct beneficiaries are 1,500 primary and secondary school teachers across Greece, with some 30,000 students and their parents as its indirect beneficiaries.