Our bereavement support

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We work with families who have a child with a life threatening or terminal illness. This means that some families we support will sadly face the death of their child.

Uniquely, our Family Support Workers, who will have been providing practical and emotional support for your whole family during your child’s life will continue to be there after the child has died.

We recognise that all families are different and will have approached their child’s illness in very personal ways. Our Family Support Workers will have got to know you and will be best placed to support you in ways that reflect your family’s needs.

Bereavement support we can offer

Emotional support: This is different for everyone. The loss of your child will bring with it a vast range of emotions. Knowing that you can call on your Family Support Worker to listen and support you can be very helpful. If you find you need someone to talk to, we can help you decide if our service would be helpful, or help you find the right support for you.

Practical support: When a child dies there are practical issues that need to be taken care of and your Family Support Worker can help you navigate the decisions and arrangements including advice on financial grants that may be available to you, guidance about notifications that need to be made or signposting you to other services that can assist.

Sibling support: This may be about supporting you to support your child as they grieve or it may be offering your child some time to explore problems they are experiencing. We recognise that younger members of the family will experience their loss in very different ways. We come equipped to respond to these needs. Through play and craft activities and by being available to siblings, we can support parents in helping children to express their loss.

Signposting: Our Family Support Workers can sign-post you to other services that you may find helpful.

Remembering: We will also work with you to find support in your community and in time, there may be the opportunity for you and your family to take part in annual remembrance days.

​“It’s been over a year since Jack died and our Family Support Worker, Dawn, has been invaluable. We know it’s not going to be easy, but the support meant we feel strong enough to look forward.”

Marie, Jack and Liam’s mum