Books for the school social work of the district
Children and young people are confronted with coping with grief when a family member, acquaintance or friend dies. They often have difficulties dealing with this issue. 26 school social workers in the district will therefore complete further training in this area in autumn - and have already received a donation of books on the subject.
"In our society, there are hardly any fixed mourning rituals and few points of orientation, so that many people, especially children and young people, are insecure in their way of mourning or death as a whole makes them very afraid," says Sandra Voß, who as a trained hospice and mourning counsellor and head coordinator of the Ökumenisches ambulantes Hospiz Korbach e.V. has many years of experience in this field. Especially for children and adolescents, it is important that professionals in schools and kindergartens are not afraid of this topic and are well prepared to accompany the children and adolescents concerned in their fears and grief. In autumn of this year, the school social workers of the district will therefore go through a "Last Aid Kids Course" in order to subsequently carry the idea of organising these courses into the schools as multipliers.
The book "Knietzsche und der Tod - Alles über die normaleste Sache der Welt" (Knietzsche and Death - All about the Most Normal Thing in the World) can be a good support for working with school classes. It deals with different topics around death, dealing with unfamiliar feelings, cultural differences and rituals or even different causes of death. This can provide a good introduction to the topic and encourage further exchange.
Sandra Voß handed over 26 copies of this book to the coordinator for school social work in the district, Svenja Lotze. They came from an earmarked donation by a former teacher who was concerned about supporting children and young people in their development and in life crises. Likewise, a bereaved husband, who very much appreciates and wants to support the preventive work of the hospice association, has contributed to the financing of the books.
"We are very grateful to the donors, the daughters of Mrs. Alfers-Peter and the husband and son of Anni Schmidt-Neumann, Mr. Bernd Neumann and Mr. André Schmidt-Neumann, for the donation of books, which will be of great value and support for the work of the school social workers from primary school to vocational school," emphasises Svenja Lotze. The multi-professional network for the benefit of families under stress in the district can thus be expanded and deepened.