Our local bereavement support team is hosting free virtual drop-in sessions to provide a safe space for individuals impacted by suicide.
With World Suicide Prevention Day being marked on Sunday, Bereavement Care is hosting two sessions on Monday 11 September at 12pm and 6pm, each lasting one hour.
Bereavement Care team can provide free ongoing support for anyone who has experienced loss, regardless of whether they have used services offered by Southern Co-op and its Co-operative Funeralcare branches.
To mark the significance of a national day to support grieving parents, Southern Co-op is holding four separate memorial services as well as donating 100 support boxes for newly bereaved parents.
In conjunction with National Bereaved Parents Day, Southern Co-op will be hosting memorial services on Monday 3 July at 6.30pm to provide support for anyone who has suffered the loss of a child.
These services will be held at The Oaks Havant Crematorium, East Devon Crematorium, Hinton Park Woodland Burial Ground and Funeral Directors, and Mayfields Woodland Burial Ground. The services will be followed by light refreshments.
For those unable to attend in person, the memorial services will also be live-streamed to ensure that individuals across the region can participate and find comfort in the shared experience of remembrance and support.
Holly Bramble, Southern Co-op’s Community Lead, said: “National Bereaved Parents Day was set up in 2020 by a small charity called A Child of Mine as the founders wanted to bring together anyone affected by the loss of a child to show them that they are not alone.
“It is the charity’s 10th anniversary this year so we wanted to mark this special occasion by supporting their work with an £8,000 donation which will pay for 100 Butterfly Boxes.
“The Butterfly Boxes are a small gesture, but we are certain they will have a positive impact on bereaved parents.”
The Butterfly Boxes offer practical support and solace to newly bereaved parents, and include items such as a teddy bear, calming candle, tissues, healing crystals, mindfulness book, journal and pen, bereavement book tailored to the family’s loss, a pink/blue heart, and a bereaved parent’s pin badge.
National Bereaved Parents Day will take place on Monday 3rd July to raise awareness for all parents who have lost a child of any age, and from any circumstance. This year’s theme is ‘you are not alone’.
Gayle Routledge, Founder and Chief Executive of A Child of Mine, said: “What can I say. We are absolutely delighted that Southern Co-op is supporting our Butterfly boxes. This donation will make a huge difference to our families in their time of need and will give them some practical resources to help them through their grief. We are so grateful to Southern Co-op for supporting A Child of Mine; as a tiny charity we rely totally on the generosity of the community and this donation really will make a huge impact. Thank you so much!”
As part of Bereaved Parents Day, the charity is encouraging people to light a candle at 7pm which Southern Co-op’s branches of The Co-operative Funeralcare will be joining in with by having candles (battery operated) shining in their windows throughout July.
For more information on the memorial services or book your place, contact the individual venue which can be found at https://southern.coop/store-locator. Or for more information contact Southern Co-op’s free Bereavement Care team on 08081 691922 or via https://bereavementcare.uk/.
Two online support groups are being held in July – National Bereaved Parents Month – to give extra help to those affected by the loss of a child.
Being held by Bereavement Care, in association with Southern Co-op and its local funeralcare branches, the support groups are for anyone who has experienced the loss of a child, regardless of age or circumstance.
National Bereaved Parents Day was set up in 2020 by the charity A Child of Mine as it wanted to bring together anyone affected by the loss of a child to show them that they are not alone.
As well as the support groups, Southern Co-op will be donating £1,000 to the charity to make sure bereaved parents and families get access to invaluable emotional and practical support.
Ali Davison, Bereavement Coordinator at Bereavement Care, said: “Our team works with people everyday to help them through some of the darkest days of their lives. So we know how incredibly important it is to have a safe, confidential environment, with others that may understand what they are going through, coupled with the support from our Bereavement Coordinators.
“We are mindful that the awareness month is likely to evoke a lot of emotions and we want to make sure we have resource in place to support these parents.”
The free Bereavement Care service is offered by Southern Co-op to everyone in its local communities – regardless of whether they have used its services. To find your nearest Southern Co-op funeral branch, visit www.funeralcare.co.uk/our-funeral-directors/location-map/.
The free service is designed to help and support people struggling to deal with bereavement.
The two online support groups will take place on Wednesday 13 July from 3pm to 4pm and Wednesday 20 July from 10am to 11am.
Links can be found via Bereavement Care’s Facebook page or by emailing info@bereavementcare.uk.
For more information on Bereavement Care and the help available, visit https://bereavementcare.uk/ or call 08081 691922.
Residents are being asked to decorate a Christmas tree with memories this year with the iconic firs being placed in more than 60 locations across the south of England.
Southern Co-op is sending special greetings cards to families they have looked after who have lost a loved one this year. The cards include a pop-out star to let their memories shine bright this Christmas.
They are then being invited to place their stars on the memory trees being put up in Southern Co-op branches of The Co-operative Funeralcare throughout December.
These are based in Alton, Andover, Ash Vale, Aylesbury, Basingstoke, Bishops Waltham, Bognor Regis, Bracknell, Brighton, Camberley, Chichester, Cosham, East Cowes, Emsworth, Fareham, Farnborough, Felpham, Fleet, Freshwater, Frome, Gillingham, Gosport, Havant, Hayling Island, Hazlemere, High Wycombe, Hove, Liss, Newport, Peacehaven, Portsmouth, Ryde, Sandown, Shaftesbury, Shanklin, Shoreham by Sea, Sturminster Newton, Uckfield, Warminster, Waterlooville, Wendover, Whitchurch, and Worthing.
Trees will also be located at The Oaks Crematorium in Havant and East Devon Crematorium in Whimple.
The trees are open to everyone in order to give them the opportunity to write a personal message to someone who is no longer with them this Christmas.
Lesley Hadley, Bereavement Coordinator from Southern Co-op’s free Bereavement Care service, said: “This is a meaningful way to acknowledge the absence of our loved ones, and make a start on creating new rituals and traditions that will include them.
“If you are finding this time of year hard, remember to be kind to yourself. It’s okay to spend time in quiet contemplation if you would prefer that to being ‘jollied along’ by well-meaning friends and family.
“Give yourself the opportunity to do what makes you feel most comfortable, rather than what others think you should be doing.”
A free bereavement care service is celebrating its 20th anniversary after touching the lives of more than 59,200 people.
The Bereavement Centre, part of the regional co-operative Southern Co-op, was the brainchild of one of its colleagues who worked in its Co-operative Funeralcare services.
After 24 years at Southern Co-op and The Co-operative Funeralcare, Ingrid McAllister-Derry knew there was a need to offer an aftercare service and emotional support for colleagues.
Her boss Steve Pearce, now the Chief Operating Officer for End of Life Services at Southern Co-op, agreed and The Bereavement Centre was launched on May 15 2000.
Ingrid, who is now The Bereavement Manager Care Liaison Officer, said: “It was quite pioneering. I had to learn things as we went along and became a professionally-qualified counsellor.
Ingrid McAllister-Derry in 1994
“We grew the service over the years to offer one-to-one bereavement support for anyone in the community – not just for people who had used our funeral services at The Co-operative Funeralcare. After 11 years, we recruited a bereavement co-ordinator and now have a team of five.”
The Bereavement Centre now provides free support for people suffering with grief and loss face-to-face or via online services such as Skype across Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Sussex and select areas of Berkshire, Dorset, Surrey and Wiltshire.
This has also helped to take some pressure off other local mental health services that have long waiting times.
Ingrid McAllister-Derry and Ang Higgins
The team also works with key workers including carers, doctors, nurses and teachers through training sessions to coach them on the practicalities of dealing with a death and loss of any kind. This includes helping medical professionals understand how to help grieving families and give the best bedside manner and support to those suffering.
Steve Pearce said: “Over the past 20 years, Ingrid and her team have supported 24,960 people at their educational sessions and have given wellbeing support to 26,859 people. The help they have provided for people has been invaluable.
“During the current pandemic, the help they have given families and to colleagues has been second-to-none. What was once just an idea, has grown into something that hundreds of people rely on. Thank you Ingrid for everything you and your team have achieved.”
In 2004, Ingrid started a friendship group in Portsmouth, which is still running now with around 35 members.
The team now runs nine Wellbeing support groups in Andover, Bognor Regis, Clayton (near Hassocks), Fareham, Farnborough, Frome, Peacehaven, Portsmouth and Sandown.
It also holds additional workshops covering subjects such as anxiety and loss, resilience, multicultural, mental health and mindfulness. For businesses that need something more bespoke, they can create a workshop to suit these needs as well.
During the coronavirus pandemic, the team has been supporting nursing homes and care in the community as well as giving people virtual help during lockdown with telephone support to the bereaved and care professionals.
Ingrid said: “Part of Southern Co-op’s values is about giving back to the communities in which we serve. How better can this be demonstrated than by providing a free bereavement service for 20 years?
“We believe passionately about giving something back and have quietly done this for all these years. It’s been a real privilege.”
Special greetings cards with a pop-out star are being sent out to families who have lost a loved one this year to let their memories shine bright this Christmas.
Residents are being invited to hang their stars on memory trees being put up in Southern Co-op branches of The Co-operative Funeralcare throughout December.
There will also be a special event held in branches on 11 December between 1pm and 3pm for people to gather together and share stories and mince pies.
The trees will give everyone the opportunity to write a personal message to someone who is no longer with them this Christmas.
Ingrid McAllister-Derry, from Southern Co-op’s free Bereavement Centre, said: “After someone close to you has died, any celebration can be particularly hard.
“The memory stars give people the opportunity to re-live happy moments and make sure their loved ones are still included in this special time of year.
“For those who are finding it particularly hard, we have advice on our website and our free bereavement support is available to everyone.”
The cards are being sent out to all families who have been supported by a Southern Co-op branch of The Co-operative Funeralcare and they are also available free in-store for others to place a star on their trees.
Please contact local branches for further details which can be found here.
£1000 has been donated to the Portsmouth Mayor’s Charity following the success of a conference aimed at sharing expertise and knowledge about working with loss and bereavement.
This is the second year that the conference, organised by The Bereavement Centre and Solent NHS Trust and supported by The Southern Co-operative, has been held following an overwhelming response from attendees last year about the value of bringing health professionals, volunteers and carers in Portsmouth together to share knowledge and experience. This year’s conference, which was held at the Mountbatten Centre in Portsmouth, attracted 140 delegates.
Speakers including representatives from Rowans Hospice, Off the Record, the Muslim community, Co-operative Funeralcare, The Bereavement Centre and Solent NHS Trust gave their perspective, supported by an exhibition of charities and organisations that offer bereavement services.
The £1000 to the Portsmouth Mayor’s charity was donated by The Southern Co-operative. Portsmouth Lord Mayor, Lynne Stagg, met exhibitors before officially opening the conference, and said: “I was very impressed by the range of agencies and services represented at the conference and very pleased to see both professionals and voluntary sector people working together. With financial cut-backs resulting in shrinking services, we are relying more and more on the voluntary sector to deliver services, not just to `fill the gaps` but to work with professionals to give the best all-round coverage possible. In addition working in partnership results in a better understanding by professionals and the voluntary sector of the bigger picture and which service is best suited to individuals.”
“The £1000 donation to my Appeal will go towards helping in two areas of `bereavement` in the wider sense of the word. One of my charities is Brain Tumour Research and in addition to carrying out research into ways of treating brain tumours, it also gives support to those suffering from brain tumours and their families who are so often facing bereavement. One of my other charities is Young Carers, children aged between 5 and 18 who are suffering the loss of what would be thought of as a `normal` childhood and who will be helped by being able to have a fun day out, away from their responsibilities at least for a day. The donation is warmly welcomed and a big “Thank You” from me to the Bereavement Centre.”
‘That some people truly care’, ‘it has been a worthwhile and vital conference which needs to be carried on in future’ and ‘I found the diversity of the speakers fantastic, each one interesting and knowledgeable’ were some of the many positive comments fed back to organisers following the conference.
The Bereavement Centre, which is supported by The Southern Co-operative, offers free emotional, practical and social support for bereaved people and their families, plus free education and training for professional people.
Bereavement conference Lord Mayor charity donation from TSC
Two online support groups are being held in July – National Bereaved Parents Month – to give extra help to those affected by the loss of a child.
The trees are open to everyone in order to give them the opportunity to write a personal message to someone who is no longer with them this Christmas.
