Service for those grappling with loss open to public
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A fully staffed counselling service is set to address a wider scope of bereavement and grief from its headquarters in Smith’s after bringing help to more than 100 people in need last year.
Fifteen years ago, the Champions Programme was started by Gina Spence Productions aimed initially at children who lost a parent to gun or gang violence.
However, the community is “in need of more support”, Ms Spence said, with the charity now “well equipped with a clinical team to assist anyone in the general public dealing with grief and loss”.
Based on Verdmont Road in Smith’s, the charity aims to become “the accredited grief and loss hub for everyone in Bermuda”, she added.
“Being in this space for 15 years, we have definite come to see the gap in service.
“We want Bermuda to know that Gina Spence Productions is ready and available with staff who are certified and qualified to help with grief of any kind, any level.
Courtney Harrison, clinical manager, said taking on a gamut of clients was the natural “next step”.
She recalled dealing with a client in need of counselling who was effectively “grieving for herself” after recovering from a massive stroke that badly impaired her mobility.
Grief experiences can range from the confusion following a change in the family or relocating to a new area or country.
Ms Harrison said: “Grief awareness is so important to us, because if you don’t know that you are grieving, you’re not giving yourself that care you would normally seek or be given.”
Both said the charity’s work in 2023 broadened their perspective of the island’s need, with presentations on grief ranging from corporate setting to the faith community, schools and within the Department of Corrections.
Ms Harrison said the two are bolstered by a longstanding volunteer counsellor, a family support specialist and an addiction counsellor, enabling clients to access a “menu” of services — ranging from talk therapy to group sessions or an action-based programme spanning several weeks.
The move comes as the charity readies to go live with an enhanced interactive website this March.
Ms Spence said: “We are still very much a charity, but a charity that is evolving.
“We have an announcement coming soon that will help people see our transition.”
She added: “After Covid-19, we saw there was a national experience of loss. It impacted the whole community.
“Everybody had some sort of loss.
“Coming out of Covid, that’s one thing everybody was able to identify with immediately. Covid took what we do to a whole other level.”
Ms Harrison said the group was interested in providing support to communities reckoning with the changes brought by school reforms.
Ms Spence added: “Grief has no time limit.
“You could have lost a job, loved one, or experienced a divorce or health issue 20 years ago — or just one year.
“If you feel you need help with that loss, we are here to assist.”