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Loss and grief Browse our articles below. To explore our full collection of resources on other themes, click here . Bereavement at different ages and stages Age-by-age guidance to support children and young people through grief. Read more Loss of a pet For many people a pet is a beloved member of the family and when they die it is a significant loss. Read more How to talk to children about death What is the right thing to say, especially at a time when a parent is often going through their own grief? Read more Bereavement When someone close to you dies Read more Loss of health One of the biggest challenges of any illness or disability is coping with the changes, losses, and grief that they can bring with them. Read more Ageing As people age, they commonly face many changes and losses. Grieving for these, and adjusting to new circumstances, can be hard. Read more Moving house? Helping your kids and teens through it. Deciding to move house begins a string of chain reactions within any family. Every situation is different and every child and teen is different, but some do struggle with the changes. Read more Delayed grief The natural grief process helps us adjust to loss. Delayed grief means the grief process hasn’t started or is stuck. This can be for a variety of reasons. Read more Loss of job Losing your job, for any reason, can be as stressful as losing a loved one. Here you can find different ideas to get you through this challenging time. Read more Explore all resources

Guide for schools Whether you're supporting an individual student or your whole school community, Skylight offers practical, evidence-informed programmes and resources to build resilience and wellbeing. We're here to partner with you in creating safe, supportive environments for tamariki and rangatahi. Schools play a vital role in supporting the emotional wellbeing of students — and we’re here to help you do that with confidence and care. Skylight partners with schools across Aotearoa to support students facing grief, loss, trauma, and life’s big transitions. We offer a suite of evidence-informed tools and programmes that help young people build resilience, express their emotions, and feel less alone. Our most well-known programme, Travellers , is designed for Year 9 students and is delivered by trained school staff in small group settings. We provide professional development and facilitator training for teachers, counsellors, and school staff, equipping them with the knowledge and resources to support students effectively. Once trained, your team will gain access to our facilitator library — a growing collection of session plans, worksheets, videos, and wellbeing tools. Skylight also offers tailored support for school communities experiencing critical incidents, bereavement, or collective trauma. Whether you're responding to a specific event or looking to strengthen your whole-school approach to mental wellbeing, we can work alongside you to find the right fit. If you're interested in bringing Travellers to your school, accessing resources, or exploring how Skylight can support your staff and students, we’d love to kōrero. You might also be interested in: Professional development opportunities Guide for young people Guide for parents and carers Other organisations that can help Request a support pack

Parenting Parenting is one of the most rewarding, challenging, joyous and frustrating experiences that we can have. Whatever age or stage your child is at, communication is key, and good communication is paramount. This is especially true with teenagers and young adults. Many people say there is a lot more conflict between parents and their children once they reach the teenage years and into young adulthood. Conflict is a normal part of any relationship, but conflict can increase during times of change. As children grow into young adults, there is a lot of change both physically and emotionally/mentally. It can be hard to find a new way of communicating with the young adult that was once your child. Tips on how to communicate with your teenager/young adult: praise and encourage your teen tell them you love them be honest with them don't yell at them let them form their own opinions help them solve their problems, but don't do it for them keep talking to them let them know that they are enough timing - pick your moment to tackle an issue with them be mindful of your body language be willing to understand the situation before acting learn the art of self control encourage appropriate expressions of anger be willing to be disliked sometimes - you can't always be their best friend. Listening and talking is the key to a healthy connection between you and your children. But parenting is hard work and maintaining a good connection with teens can be challenging, especially since parents are dealing with many other pressures. It is really important to look after yourself as well, you can't possibly expect to be a great parent if you are running on empty all the time. Being a teenager today is hard - the introduction of social media and the expectations that we place on ourselves makes growing up harder than ever. If you are having problems over an extended period of time, you might want to consider consulting with a professional to find out how they can help. Counselling for your teen and yourself may help to open communications channels again. You might also be interested in: Bullying ADHD Autism Spectrum Disorder (Takiwātanga) How to talk to children about death Anxiety Family break-up Moving house? Helping your kids and teens through it. Subscribe to our newsletter Looking for more support? Get insights, tools, and stories from Skylight — and a free guide to help you get started. You can unsubscribe at any time. First name Email address* Yes, subscribe me to your newsletter. Subscribe By submitting this form, you consent and agree to Skylight Trust collecting and handling your personal information in accordance with our privacy policy . If you have any questions or wish to view or amend your information, please email us at [email protected]

Organise your own fundraising event Have a look around at what others are doing and get inspired. There are so many ways that you could fundraise to support the work of Skylight. No matter what you choose to do, you can know that every little bit of money raised will make a positive difference to children, young people and whānau in our communities. You can set yourself a challenge, whether it is to complete a run or bike ride or give something up for a while. You could hold a sausage sizzle or bake sale; run a movie night; host a quiz night, arrange a garden tour, an auction, or a coffee morning. Have a look at what others are doing or check out this list of fundraising ideas and get inspired. Let us know your plans When you decide what fundraising activity or event you are going to do, please get in touch with us so we can talk about how we can support you, while you are supporting us. Some things that could help Set up a fundraising page on Givealittle This will make it easy for you to tell people what you’re doing and why, and collect donations. Your supporters will get a tax receipt for their donation immediately and the money will be direct credited into our bank account, so you don’t have to worry about depositing it into our account. Ask us about fundraising tips and tricks. We could give you advice on how to organise an event, getting others to support you, getting permits from your local council, ways to promote your event, collecting and banking the money, and more. There are lots of people at Skylight who can’t wait to help you with your fundraising ideas. A few things to keep in mind Have fun! Choose something that you, your friends, whānau and people you know will enjoy doing. Know your limits – whatever you choose to do can be as big or small as you want, please make sure it is something you can do. No fundraising event is too small and small amounts really do add up to help us support children, young people, their whānau and communities when they need our help. Tell people why you are fundraising – your fundraising event will be a great opportunity to tell people about Skylight and what we do, while you are having fun. You might also be interested in: Our story Advocacy Contact us Fundraising ideas Get involved

Waves Waves is an eight week programme that aims to support adults aged 18 and older who have been bereaved by suicide. The programme combines learning about suicide and bereavement, with group discussion and support. The group is facilitated by two trained facilitators over eight weeks and supports members to: meet and share with others who are also experiencing the impact of suicide explore aspects of their grief and reduce isolation and stigma associated with bereavement by suicide in a safe and supportive environment get information and strategies about how to care for themselves and others (including children and young people), after a suicide adjust to living with loss and moving forward While Skylight is no longer running Waves or training facilitators , the programme continues to be offered throughout Aotearoa. Please connect with Tony's Place to learn more about Waves facilitator training opportunities and visit the Mental Health Foundation for current Waves groups. Upcoming Dates | Areas Henderson, Tamaki Makaurau - eight weeks commencing 4th February 6.30pm - 8.30pm - to express your interest in attending please contact Christine Jones [email protected] You might also be interested in: Sound Bridge

Our story From grief to growth, darkness to light — Skylight has been walking alongside Aotearoa through life’s toughest moments for nearly three decades. Ngā Whainga – Vision: In Aotearoa tamariki and rangatahi are empowered to thrive. Tā mātou whakatakanga – Mission: Guiding tamariki and rangatahi hauora through responsive, informed and effective practice. Humble Beginnings Skylight began with a simple but powerful idea: no child or young person in Aotearoa should face grief, loss, or trauma alone. In the late 1990s, when a children’s bereavement support group in Wellington closed its doors, a small group of committed professionals stepped forward to create something new. They envisioned an organisation that would not only respond to the pain of loss, but also restore hope, resilience, and connection. In 1996, this vision became reality. The Children’s Grief Centre Charitable Trust was formed, later becoming known simply as Skylight . From the beginning, our work was grounded in deep community consultation, thoughtful leadership, and a steadfast belief that grief support should be accessible, inclusive, and empowering. Our first Chief Executive, Bice Awan, launched the organisation from the floor of an unfurnished office with a single heater and mobile phone—guided by a big heart and bigger ambition. Over the following two decades, Skylight grew from a grassroots initiative into a national centre of excellence for grief, loss, and trauma support. We established counselling services, a resource and information centre, training programmes, and published dozens of tools and handbooks for professionals and families alike. From tailored support packs to best-selling grief workbooks, our resources have been used in homes, schools, workplaces, and communities throughout New Zealand—and beyond. A major milestone came in 2001 with the creation of the Travellers programme, a school-based initiative helping Year 9 students navigate change, build resilience, and talk about what really matters. Developed in partnership with youth experts and the Ministry of Health, Travellers became a cornerstone of Skylight’s youth support work—rolled out across hundreds of schools and celebrated by students who said it helped them "talk about difficult stuff" and "think differently." Standing With Communities in Crisis Over the years, Skylight has responded to some of New Zealand's most painful moments—supporting those affected by natural disasters, suicide, family trauma, and tragedy. From Christchurch earthquakes to the Pike River mine disaster, we’ve created resources, counselling support, and training for those at the frontline and those left behind. Our international work has extended to Australia, Denmark, and Saudi Arabia. Skylight was one of New Zealand's early adopters of the social enterprise model—balancing a deep social mission with income generation to ensure sustainability. This approach allowed us to grow while remaining nimble, responding quickly to emerging needs and funding realities without compromising on care. Our story is a collective one. From early board members and student volunteers to designers, counsellors, creatives and community leaders, Skylight has been shaped by the generosity and belief of hundreds of people. We’ve also been fortunate to have Patrons such as Judy Bailey and Louise Nicholas lend their mana and support to our work. In 2015, Heather Henare became Chief Executive, bringing fresh energy, systems thinking, and a strong grounding in social work and women’s advocacy. Under her leadership, we modernised our systems, refreshed our premises, and laid foundations for the future—ensuring Skylight could meet the needs of a changing Aotearoa. What We Do Today At Skylight Trust, we empower tamariki and rangatahi to thrive by supporting their mental health and emotional wellbeing. Every year, we walk alongside thousands of individuals and whānau through counselling, group programmes, tailored resources, training, and digital tools. We work in partnership with schools, workplaces, government, and community organisations to ensure support is available wherever it’s needed – whether in a therapy room, a rural classroom, or online. Our mission is to guide tamariki and rangatahi hauora through responsive, informed, and effective practice. At our heart, we are hope brokers – people who help others find light in the dark. We know that trauma, grief, loss – and challenges to mental health – can change a life. But with the right support, so can hope. Learn more To follow our first 20 years, download Skylight History: The First 20 Years. You might also be interested in: Our impact Our partners Contact us Work with us Organise your own fundraising event Fundraising ideas Get involved

Professional development opportunities Our team offers tailored training and presentations designed to meet the needs of agencies, organisations, and professionals working with children, young people, and families. What We Offer At Skylight, we believe in empowering professionals and communities with the knowledge and tools to support resilience and wellbeing through life’s toughest times. We deliver engaging, evidence-informed sessions on topics such as: Grief, loss, and trauma-informed practice Supporting children and young people through change Building resilience in families and communities Mental wellbeing and emotional literacy Responding to distress and crisis situations Our presentations can be adapted to suit your audience, whether you're a school, health provider, NGO, government agency, or community group. Customised Presentations We work with you to understand your needs and tailor our content accordingly. To request a presentation, please complete our Presentation Request Form and email it to [email protected] . This form helps us gather key details such as: Your organisation’s context and goals Preferred date, time, and location Audience size and age group Technical requirements (e.g., PowerPoint, presentation display setup or screen-sharing capability) Any sensitive topics or support needs We’ll review your request and get in touch to confirm details and discuss next steps. Upcoming Webinars and Events We’re excited to be developing a series of webinars and online workshops that will be available for registration in the near future. These sessions will offer accessible, high-quality professional development opportunities - some free, some paid - on topics relevant to our work. Stay tuned for updates! Costs and Funding Skylight presentations are offered at a cost to help us sustain our services. Please include funding details in your request form. If cost is a barrier, let us know - we are happy to work with you to progress your request. Contact Us If you have questions or would like to discuss a potential training opportunity before submitting a form, feel free to get in touch with our team at [email protected] . You might also be interested in: Guide for schools Other organisations that can help Contact us Work with us Get involved

Trauma Trauma is a response to either a one-time event or to many adverse experiences over time. Trauma — Skylight Trust Trauma is a response to either a one-time event – such as an earthquake – or to many adverse experiences over time – such as Domestic Violence. After a distressful event, each person involved, will have a different reaction . For some of us, those reactions may be unpredictable emotions, flashbacks of the event, physical symptoms like anxiety, digestive problems, sweating, nausea, dizziness, and an affect on your eating and sleeping patterns etc. What your reaction will be, is dependent on personal factors, but it is important to remember that: traumatic reactions can happen to all of us. It is difficult to manage your reactions to unexpected events, that are out of your control. after a traumatic event, many people can have long-lasting problems, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) the symptoms you are experiencing after a traumatic event are the expected responses of your body and mind, trying to adjust. You are not going crazy, but you may need support if the responses are persistent or interfering with your daily life many psychologically well-adjusted and physically healthy people develop PTSD. Remember you are not the only one feeling this way, many people will respond the same to a distressful event by understanding trauma symptoms better, a person can become less fearful of them and better able to manage them, asking for support if they need. You might also be interested in: Helping Tamariki and Rangatahi Cope with Natural Disasters Anxiety Abusive relationships How to build resilience Subscribe to our newsletter Looking for more support? Get insights, tools, and stories from Skylight — and a free guide to help you get started. You can unsubscribe at any time. First name Email address* Yes, subscribe me to your newsletter. Subscribe By submitting this form, you consent and agree to Skylight Trust collecting and handling your personal information in accordance with our privacy policy . If you have any questions or wish to view or amend your information, please email us at [email protected]

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