A warning this story contains information and images relating to the loss of a child. Losing a child is something parents don't often think about and very few would ever think about the costs associated with it happening. Grief experts say Australia is falling behind other countries when it comes to helping families navigate the death of a child.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00Who got you that?
00:05A generous and empathetic boy taken too soon.
00:10This is how Bronwyn Helgeson describes her five-year-old son Mason.
00:14He died three years ago from an undetected twisted bowel.
00:18The last thing as a parent you expect is your child to pass away.
00:22You know, no parent should outlive their child.
00:26And at that time as well, we had a 10-week-old baby.
00:31The community rallied around Miss Helgeson and her family
00:34to help cover funeral costs.
00:36There's costs of thinking like the venue, flowers, memorial cards
00:42and just those little things that, you know,
00:44not everyone is going to have that cost on hand,
00:47especially when a death is, you know, unexpected
00:50and especially that of a child.
00:52To ease that burden for other families,
00:54a council in South Australia's Riverland
00:56has decided to waive grave digging fees for children under 10.
01:00I'm not aware of other councils
01:02actually making these concessions for families.
01:06Grief Australia is encouraging more support.
01:09Australia is kind of well behind the game
01:12when we look at what's being done in other countries.
01:14I know in both the UK and Scotland and Europe
01:17there have been funds that have been established
01:19that cover the entire costs for families for the burial of a child.
01:23It costs around $6,000 for a child's funeral.
01:27Some families are eligible for means-tested federal funding.
01:31But Bronwyn Helgeson says making support more accessible
01:34would make a significant difference to grieving families.
01:38I think if there was that relief of knowing
01:40that there's not that financial burden
01:42of having to pay for even just a basic funeral or burial cost,
01:47you know, I think that will definitely help.
01:50Offering relief for families dealing with heartbreaking grief.