'You feel that you're not alone' - the young people finding community in grief

Luke Alfano was 21 when his dad, who just two weeks earlier had been diagnosed with cancer, died.

At the time, Luke did not know what to do or where to turn.

Five years later, he founded Too Young to Grieve, a community offering young people a casual space to "have a moan, have a laugh, talk about your grief and just know that people understand you".

The group is based in more than 20 locations, including London, Manchester, the US and Australia - and now, Belfast.

Losing someone you love is never easy. But for Luke, the shock of his dad dying so suddenly, and so early in Luke's life, was especially difficult.

"I lost my dad when I was 21. I didn't feel like there was much out there for young adults experiencing loss," Luke told BBC News NI.

"That initial first year or two, I didn't really know what was going on.

"I didn't know what this thing called grief was, I just ignored it."

It was not until Luke, then 25, lost his grandmother that he realised he had "not really processed" his dad's death.

"That experience was a trigger to think back to what happened with my dad and think I don't want to experience that again, so let me try and understand it a bit more," he said.

Luke founded Too Young to Grieve, which offers young people who have experienced grief the opportunity to meet in person, with activities ranging from walks and hikes, to pottery painting and football tournaments.

"When you're 18 to 35, you're grieving someone that most people are going to turn to for a lot of the most important decisions in your life," he said.

"You just want to talk about your person, or just have a space to talk about how you're feeling."