We already have eight BHPs across the approx. 700 square miles that we serve. They offer a space to meet and talk with others who are bereaved and who ‘get it’, in an informal and supportive setting. As one lady told us:
£182,753 grant for community bereavement resources
We are delighted to have been awarded a significant grant by the National Lottery to support the development of community based bereavement resources.
The National Lottery Grant of £182,753 over three years will enable us to expand our work with partners We Hear You, Carers Support Wiltshire and Bath Carers Centre. The money will be used to open more Bereavement Help Points (BHPs), community based drop-ins allowing anyone who is bereaved to quickly and easily access support within their own community, facilitated by local, trained volunteers.
What community Bereavement Help Points offer
“ …the one overriding benefit for me was the realisation that the devastation I feel and the nonsense that my life has become, is not unique to me, or a symptom of losing my marbles but it is actually quite normal, whatever normal is.”
How will the National Lottery Grant be used
We hope to support 280 people who have been bereaved in the first year of the grant, building to around 500 by year three, alongside around 50 volunteers and staff who will help lead this process.
Working with our local partners enables us to share skills and resources for the benefit of local communities.
“We are delighted to be working in partnership with Dorothy House Hospice Care and BANES Carers’ Centre,” says WHY CEO Lucy Kitchener.
“We all bring different strengths, skills and resources to the partnership and by working together we feel we will actively be able to make a difference.”
Leanne Hubbard, CEO of Carer Support Wiltshire says:
“We know that these help points have been incredibly helpful to the carers we support. After being focused on caring for someone for so long and having built support networks around the caring role, people can feel lonely and purposeless alongside their grief when that person dies. The help points are a hugely valuable resource for the bereaved carers in our communities.”
Dominic Denny, Community Bereavement Support Coordinator at Dorothy House said:
“This significant award from the National Lottery to support the funding and development of Bereavement Help Points will allow many more people struggling with loss to access valuable peer-support in the communities they live. It also endorses the value of our partnerships with Carer Support Wiltshire, We Hear You and Bath and North East Somerset Carers’ Centre and our collective community based approach.”
Bereavement Help Points near you
To find out more about the location of our Bereavement Help Points, click here.
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