Learning Through Loss support and resources

National support lines

Dedicated youth support

General support

  • Griefline (8am-8pm): Ages 15+, support for anyone who needs it. Ph 1300845745 or visit griefline.org.au
  • Beyond Blue (24/7): Ages 5+, free mental health support. Ph 1300224636 or web chat
  • QLife (3pm-midnight): All ages LGBTIQ+ peer led support. Ph 1800184527 or web chat
  • Lifeline (24/7): All ages crisis support. Ph 131114 or web chat
  • 13YARN (24/7): Talk with an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander crisis supporter. Ph 139276 or web chat
  • Red Nose (24/7): Offers support for those affected by the death of a baby or child including through miscarriage, medical termination, stillbirth and newborn death. Ph 1300308307 or visit rednosegriefandloss.org.au

Support services in the Murray PHN region

  • Canteen: Statewide support for children and families impacted by cancer. Ph 1800226833 or visit www.canteen.org.au
  • headspace: headspace centres provide face-to-face and telehealth services to young people aged 12 to 25 years and their families and friends. Locations in the Murray PHN region include Mildura, Swan Hill, Echuca, Bendigo, Shepparton, Wangaratta and Albury-Wodonga. Click here and enter your postcode to find your local centre.
  • Parentline Victoria: A phone service for parents and carers of children from birth to 18 years old offering confidential and anonymous counselling and support on parenting issues. Ph 132289 or visit services.dffh.vic.gov.au/parentline
  • Standby Murray: Support for individuals, families, workplaces and communities affected by a death after suicide. Ph 1300727247 or visit standbysupport.com.au

Note: If you’re not located in the Murray PHN region and are looking for local services near you, visit Grief Australia’s Support Directo

Support groups in the Murray PHN region

  • Compassionate Friends Victoria: Support groups for people who have experienced the death of a child, sibling and/or grandchild, at any age, from any cause. Locations include Bendigo and Mildura. Click here for more information.
  • Feel the Magic: Provides early intervention programs for kids aged 7-18 who are experiencing pain and isolation due to the death of a parent, guardian or sibling. Includes camps that follow a structured psychoeducational program, in addition to fun activities and connections with peers as they learn that they are not alone in their grief. Ph 1300602465 or visit feelthemagic.org.au

Support for young carers

  • Young Carers Network: A place for young carers across Australia to learn about support services, access resources, and share their story and opinions. Visit youngcarersnetwork.com.au
  • Young Carer Bursary: This program supports young carers to continue with their education and offers a limited number of bursaries each year. Young carers across Australia can apply from late July until early September. Click here for more information.

Additional resources

Websites

  • Learning Grief: A free online resource created to help support kids and teens navigate the big feelings that come with loss. Whether you’re a mentor, coach, youth leader, educator or caregiver, you can use these tools to learn and model effective support, teaching kids how to navigate tough times and how to be there for their peers.
  • Speaking Grief: Explores the transformative experience of losing a family member in a death- and grief-avoidant society. This national public media initiative includes a one-hour documentary, media-rich website, social media campaign and numerous community engagement events, all aimed at starting a national conversation about grief.
  • Trauma and Grief Network (TGN): Connects families, carers and members of the community to resources focused on the care of children and adolescents affected by the impact of trauma, loss and grief.
  • National Centre for Childhood Grief (NCCG): A not-for-profit organisation dedicated to caring for bereaved children and their families following the death of a parent, sibling or other close loved one.
  • What’s Your Grief?: Grief support for the rest of us. You don’t have to grieve alone. What’s Your Grief? is a place for grief articles, courses, creativity, sharing community and more.
  • Grief Australia: An independent, not-for-profit organisation striving to change the way Australia lives with grief. Provides evidence-informed counselling, training and research to collectively strengthen the nation’s response to grief.

Videos

Articles and reports

Books

  • 35 Ways to Help a Grieving Child | The Dougy Centre
  • Resilient Grieving | Dr Lucy Hone
  • Grief in Children, A Handbook for Adults | Alte Dyregrov and Bill Yule
  • A Parent’s Guide to Raising Grieving Children | Silverman and Kelly
  • I Just Want to be Me: Building Resilience in Young People | Timothy Bowden Postgrad Dip Psych

Apps

Support for educators

It’s not easy supporting a young person through grief and loss. While you are a professional, you are also a person with your own mental health needs. You also bring your own experiences of grief and loss that might be triggered during the process of providing support. It is important that you know your boundaries, practise self care and reach out for support. This is how you will sustainably be able to support others.

Support services

Your GP can provide you with a mental health care plan that allows you to receive 10 sessions with a mental health professional at a reduced rate each year.

The following support lines are free to access.

Published: February 11th, 2025

Murray PHN acknowledges its catchment crosses over many unceded First Nations Countries, following the Dhelkunya Yaluk (Healing River).

We pay our respects and give thanks to the Ancestors, Elders and Young people for their nurturing, protection and caregiving of these sacred lands and waterways, acknowledging their continuing cultural, spiritual and educational practices.

We are grateful for the sharing of Country and the renewal that Country gives us. We acknowledge and express our sorrow that this sharing has come at a personal, spiritual and cultural cost to the wellbeing of First Nations peoples. We commit to addressing the injustices of colonisation across our catchment, and to listening to the wisdom of First Nations communities who hold the knowledge to enable healing. We extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.