When Alex Halsey and his child therapy team came close to running out of vital sensory bears, he knew exactly who to turn to. 

Alex, who manages Cornwall Council’s Family Plus Team, got straight on the phone to his nan, Jean Sampson, who immediately recruited her Saltash sewing group, Bridge View Quilters, to help. 

As luck would have it, fellow group Brunnel Quilters from the same town were able to lend a hand and before long almost 50 sewers were hard at work making the bears.  

They spent more than 160 hours creating 82 bears, and last week Alex made a special trip to pick them up from The Core Youth and Community Centre where the groups are based.  

Alex, whose team supports children and young people who no longer live with their birth parents, said:  

“I’m overwhelmed by what my Nan and her friends have managed to achieve and would like to say a huge thank you to all of them.  

“The bears aren’t commercially available so getting hold of them is always tricky. Luckily my nan and her friends came to the rescue and I’m overwhelmed by what they have managed to achieve.  

“Every single bear has been made with such love and care, and they are so much more personal and unique than anything mass-produced. I’ve seen first-hand how the bears can take a huge weight off a child’s shoulders so I know they will make a big difference.” 

Called ‘Think-Feel-Do sensory bears’, the bears are used as part of the Family Plus Team’s Therapeutic Life Story Work (TLSW) with children of any age.  

They help young people who no longer live with their parents to explore their past experiences and identities, supporting them and their carers to better understand the relationship between their thoughts, feelings and behaviours.  

The team has used them for the past four years for children with Special Guardianship Orders but this year the model of Therapeutic Life Story Work has been expanded to all children in care. 

This sparked an increase in demand for the bears, which were originally a concept that grew out of a presentation given at the Australian Childhood Trauma conference of 2016 ‘Going on a Bear Hunt’ and used in the work of Richard Rose’s Therapeutic Life Story work ‘Think Feel Do’. 

Alex explained: “The bears have special patches on their heads (representing ‘think’), hearts (representing ‘feel’) and on their paw (representing ‘do’), helping children identify and express their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours.  

“They are proven to be particularly effective for young people who have experienced trauma, separation, or significant changes, as it simplifies complex emotional experiences and makes them more manageable and understandable.  

“By using the bears in Therapeutic Life Story Work, children and young people can be supported to gain insights into their internal world and learn healthier ways to cope and respond to their emotions.” 

Cllr Barbara Ellenbroek, cabinet member for children and families at Cornwall Council, said: 

“This is a truly heart-warming story, and I would like to thank the amazing members of both sewing groups in Saltash for their compassion and generosity. 

“Alex and his team do amazing work with some of our most vulnerable children and young people, and clearly these bears are going to make a huge difference to many lives.” 

For more information on the Family Plus Team, visit: https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/health-and-social-care/childrens-services/adoption-and-fostering-in-cornwall-and-the-isles-of-scilly/special-guardianship/   

The Bridge View Quilters are always on the look-out for new members – if you’re interested contact Pam Eccles on 01752 852185.