The diagnosis of “life -shortening disease” in a child shakes the emotional and social balance of the whole family. Siblings experience the fears, concerns and uncertainty of the parents and are affected by it themselves. Because they too have to find their way around this completely changed family situation in this diagnosis and are often on their own. That is why the German children’s hospice services have defined their commitment to the healthy siblings from the start as a load-bearing pillar in their outpatient child and youth hospice work and not only draws attention to the situation of siblings by sick boys and girls, but also require health insurance companies to finally take siblings in children’s hospice work into refinancing.
So far, the sibling work has only been financed by donations. “It is time for this to change,” says Thorsten Haase, the executive board of the German Children’s Hospice Services. Due to their outstanding concept, which is characterized by experience education, the siblings of the German children’s hospice have grown steadily. The outpatient children’s and youth hospice service Dortmund alone now regularly accompanies 45 siblings in two different age groups once a month. But not only in the lion gang in Dortmund, but also at the locations in Bochum, Frankfurt, Regensburg and Westerwald, the siblings in the lion gang find space and time again and again at the meetings and to know the attention for a day, for hours, for valuable moments. Because in their everyday life, the girls and boys are often forced to take into account their seriously ill brothers and sisters who need a lot of attention, especially those of the parents.
Siblings not alone with their worries
“We always experience that it is a great need for the siblings to simply drop and enjoy our lion gang – simply to be normal ‘and to do things and to do and let the other do,” says René Klabunde, who has coordinated the siblings in Dortmund for a year. He and the volunteers who regularly accompany the lion gang strengthen the children and adolescents in their current, personal situation, take time for them and do not leave them alone with their worries.
“It is very important that you get to know other children and adolescents here in the lion gang who feel the same way – who also have a sick brother or a sick sister and know what that means.”
The special sibling concept of the German Children’s Hospice Services in Dortmund is based on participation. Means: The children and adolescents who come to the lion gang can have a say in which activities are planned for the respective year, where and how excursions take place. Everyone and everyone also decides what to be revealed with whom you can exchange and who you want to open.
First vacation freedom planned for siblings
For the first time this year, the German Children’s Hospice Services even offer the Dortmund Löwen gang children two holiday holidays. “During the Easter holidays we drive to a sports and adventure village on the Lower Rhine for three days and two nights, during the summer holidays even for six days and five nights to the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea,” says sibling group coordinator René Klabunde.
About German Children’s Hospice Services:
The German Children’s Hospice Dienste EV are a non -profit association. Touched by the situation of affected families with seriously ill children and adolescents, the goal of a need -based offer of child hospice is pursued for children, adolescents, adolescents and their families – throughout Germany until 2035. In the summer of 2018, the German children’s hospice services originated – with the establishment of the children’s hospice service “Löwenzahn” in Dortmund according to a completely new concept. A modern help structure should address those affected via a medical network. The self -helped hand was replaced by the help of help. Emotional and practical hurdles to use the help were consistently reduced to a minimum. The Bochum location was set up from 2020; In 2021 services were added in Frankfurt am Main and Regensburg; A service in the Westerwald in 2024.
The vision of the German Children’s Hospice Services is a modern help structure throughout Germany that actively gets families out of the dark, accompanies them trustingly and their offers of help is based on the needs of families. Together with partners, full-time and volunteer specialists, the association develops a nationwide and needs-based offer in Germany. The goal is to illuminate the dark field of over 96,000 families affected with life -shortening children and adolescents in Germany as quickly as possible.
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