Nambour RSL Club supports Cittamani Hospice bereavement program. L-R Suzanne Long (RSL), Alex Moore and Judy Venn (Cittamani) and Vince Cashion (RSL).
In response to the valuable work of the Cittamani Hospice Bereavement Support Program the Nambour RSL Club is donating $30,000 over three years to continue the program.
Cittamani Hospice provides a free and comprehensive service to individuals and their families facing terminal illness on the Sunshine Coast. The Bereavement Program was established to help family and friends through their journey of grief and cope with the loss of their loved one.
Cittamani Hospice Executive Director Alex Moore said the program began in 1998, and has helped more than 2000 people cope with their grief. “Cittamani understands the grieving process is unique and rarely follows a predictable path so the program allows people to grieve in their own way and time,” Ms Moore said.
The success of Cittamani’s bereavement support program has attracted the interest of international award winning scientist and UCQ Senior Research Fellow Dr Pam McGrath. Dr McGrath is widely acclaimed for her research into palliative care, and she has received a grant to research the benefits of bereavement support. This year the Cittamani bereavement support team will work with Dr McGrath as she investigates the model of support Cittamani offer.
Nambour RSL Club Administration Manager Suzanne Long said the Nambour RSL Services & Citizens Club is privileged to be a major sponsor of the vital service Cittamani Hospice Service Bereavement Support Program provides. “The Nambour RSL Club prides itself on being an important part of the local community, and contributes over $350 000 per annum to supporting local sporting clubs, welfare groups and charities and organisations such as the Cittamani Bereavement Support Program,” Ms Long said.
There are two aspects of the bereavement program, the first aspect is regular phone contact with individual family members and the second aspect is group sessions. Cittamani Social Worker Meg McNaught is the co-ordinator of the bereavement program. She said the group sessions provide a place for people to make connections with others experiencing something similar. “For a person to tell their story it is helpful in them making sense of how grief is affecting their life,” Ms McNaught said.
Cittamani Hospice is very grateful for the financial assistance the Nambour RSL has given to the bereavement program. The program has benefited so many people and will continue to do so due to the generosity of the Nambour RSL.
Leave a Reply