Italian
An open dialogue to understand the pain of the youngest and learn how to support them in the face of illness, dementia, and loss
VALDOBBIADENE (TV) – How do you accompany a child or an adolescent when life is shaken by illness or the loss of a loved one? Is it possible to talk about grief without frightening them? And how do you manage the pain linked to dementia, which slowly changes the relationship with a family member?
These are the questions the meeting “When life changes due to illness and death: how to talk and support children and adolescents” will attempt to answer, scheduled for Thursday, October 16 at 5:00 p.m. at the Celestino Piva Auditorium in Valdobbiadene (via Piva, 53).
The event is free and open to all citizens.
A delicate topic that touches everyone
Facing suffering together with young people means recognizing their emotions, helping them put a name to what they feel, and offering tools to go through the pain. The meeting will focus precisely on this: how to listen, how to support, how to communicate in a way that respects the age and sensitivity of children and adolescents.
A discussion guided by experts
Speaker will be Dr. Gloria Angela Baracco, psychologist and psychotherapist at Ulss 2 Marca Trevigiana, with experience in Palliative Care, Home Care, and Oncology.
The meeting will be moderated by Dr. Valentina Tessarolo and Dr. Desy Meneghello, coordinators of the Itinerant Pedemontano Alzheimer Café project.
“We want to create an opportunity for dialogue and awareness on a topic that concerns all of us closely,” explains lawyer Giuseppe Franceschetto, CEO of the Prealpina Group. “Understanding how children experience illness and death is essential to be able to accompany them through pain and the progressive loss of a relationship, as happens in cases of dementia.”
A project that unites families, professionals, and the local community
The October 16 event concludes the 13th edition of “Itinerant Pedemontano Alzheimer Café: a warm comfort for families,” a project born in 2011 from the collaboration between the Prealpina Group – Residences for the Elderly in Cavaso del Tomba and the Alzheimer ODV Association of Riese Pio X, under the patronage of Ulss 2 Marca Trevigiana.
Over the years, thanks to the involvement of the Progetti Sollievo (Relief Projects), the network has expanded and strengthened. The 2025 edition includes the participation of the projects from Riese Pio X, Loria, Castello di Godego, San Zenone degli Ezzelini, Valdobbiadene, and Vedelago, each with its own associated organizations.
The events in the series offer information about the illness, available services, and how to communicate and relate with people affected by cognitive decline. Great attention is also given to managing difficult behavioral symptoms, and above all to the space for sharing among participants, where questions, emotions, and experiences are heard.
At the end of each meeting, a convivial moment over a coffee allows the burden of daily life to be lightened for a moment and creates relationships of mutual support.
A deeply rooted reality
The Prealpina Group S.r.l. traces its roots back to the early 1900s with a care home for tuberculosis patients in Cavaso del Tomba. Since 1976, it has become a center dedicated to the elderly, growing over time to represent today a point of reference for care and attention to the individual in the Pedemontano area.
The Group collaborates with local institutions and associations and also includes the G. and A. Binotto Retirement Home and Villa Dr. L. Tomasi.
An invitation to the community
Talking about illness and death does not mean taking away hope, but offering young people the opportunity to be seen, heard, and accompanied. This meeting represents an important step toward building a more aware community, capable of caring for every age of life.
