Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108connect 2017 • 46 Adrian and his wife Aine lost their daughter Aoife to an infection con- tracted while battling leukemia when she was just five-years old. Aoife had met her idol, Irish boxer Katie Taylor, just 10 days before. “She had actually been doing really well and was coming home,” explains Adrian. “So this sudden turn was just a massive shock to us.” At the time, the Hendricks did not know any other parents who had lost a child and they, like many families in Ireland, did not know where to turn in the terrible and confusing days after Aoife’s passing. Weeks later, Adrian heard a radio advertise- ment for Anam Cara. He attended a meeting and realized their family was not alone. Anam Cara which means “soul friend” in Gaelic, was launched in 2008 by a few families seeking to support one another in the midst of experiencing the grief of losing a child. Today, it is a national peer-support program across Ireland available to the 2,000+ families who experience the death of a child each year, regardless of the age of their child or circumstances of their death. “Grief is not linear,” explains Sharon Vard, CEO of Anam Cara who herself lost her young daughter Rachel in 2004 to an inoperable brain tumor. “Parents may feel the depth of their grief immediately or six months after the death of a child. By coming together with other parents, they find that they are not alone and have a safe space to grieve at whatever stage they are at.” Anam Cara groups meet monthly across Ireland in comfortable community spaces and offer online peer-support at all times.Groups are co-facilitated by a professional counselor, psychologist or psychotherapist and a volunteer parent. The small groups address everything from the physical and emotional effects of grief, to how to handle milestones and life-changes in the years that follow the death of a child. When professional support may be needed by a parent, Anam Cara serves as a resource to guide them to the best services. A distinction of the program is that the age of the child lost does not matter—parents who have lost a 45-year-old son or daughter are as welcomed as parents who have lost a young child. Yet the different needs of those affected are addressed. Specific resources are offered to young bereaved parents, fathers, siblings, mothers and those experiencing a child’s sudden-death. In addition, family days are held so that when they are ready, families around the country can meet to celebrate and remember the children that were lost and have camaraderie with others experienc- ing the same. Anam Cara Anam Cara: Soul Friend “I genuinely do not think there is any other grief like it,” says Adrian Hendrick.