Farewell to Jess Sheridan as Young Person’s Ambassador

After two years, Dorothy House is bidding a fond farewell to Jess Sheridan, as she steps down from her role as a Young Person’s Ambassador to pursue her career and other commitments.

Jess’ work with Dorothy House

Jess joined our team of Ambassadors in 2023, having seen first-hand the support that Dorothy House provides. Her mum died in May 2021 and was cared for by our Community Palliative Care Nurses, after which Jess joined our Teens Bereavement Support Group and worked with our Family Support Team to navigate her bereavement journey.

Since losing her mum, Jess has been championing the need for schools to be better prepared in dealing with grief and understanding the impact this can have on relationships and studies. In 2022, she participated as a facilitator at a pastoral training course hosted by Dorothy House at Monkton Combe School, which was attended by teachers and nursing staff from many schools in the area. As part of the course, Jess discussed her experience of bereavement and the support she wished she received from schools and pastoral staff to help her through such a challenging time.

The Dragonfly Project

In her time as an Ambassador, Jess has been involved in several other projects at Dorothy House, including the Dragonfly Project. A partnership between Dorothy House and Winsley Primary School, this annual community education scheme aims to reduce anxiety and encourage conversations about death and grief, while also giving children the opportunity to learn about the work of a hospice. Alongside other patients and staff, Jess worked with Year Six children of Winsley Primary School to introduce them to the work of the Hospice, as well as getting to know them and talking about her experiences of grief with them.

Young Volunteer of the Year

It was Jess’ outstanding work and dedication to Dorothy House that led her to winning Young Volunteer of the Year at the Hospice UK Awards in November 2023.

“By generously sharing her personal experience of losing her mum as a teenager, Jess has offered advice to other bereaved young people, acting as a role model and helping them to connect and support each other.” – Toby Porter, CEO of Hospice UK

Additionally, to her Hospice UK Award, Jess also won Young Volunteer of the year at the B&NES Community Awards 2023/2024, recognising her amazing contribution to the community in Bath and North East Somerset.

In her work with the Hospice, Jess has raised vital awareness of our vision of a society where death is a part of life, and her presence at our events has also provided representation of bereaved children and young people’s voices in spaces where they wouldn’t normally be present. We are so grateful to Jess for her hard work and dedication over the past few years and wish her the very best of luck with her future endeavours.

Supporting young people through bereavement – Seb Chester-Phillips

Remaining as a Young Person’s Ambassador will be Seb Chester-Phillips, who joined us last year. Like Jess, Seb also has a personal connection to Dorothy House, after his mum, Amanda was cared for at the Hospice in 2015.

In his time with us so far, Seb has been using his experience of losing his mum to raise awareness of grief and bereavement in young people, recently sharing his story in an episode of the Dorothy House Podcast, where he spoke about the care his mum received, as well as his struggle to process his grief at such a young age. In 2024, he featured in our Men’s Locker Room Chat at the Bath Rugby Recreation Ground, a film created in preparation for our Men’s Walk to Support to raise awareness of the importance of men speaking openly about their mental health, particularly when it comes to grief. Seb also supported in the launch of our Interactive Nature Trail by speaking about the power of nature when it comes to navigating grief and loss.

Seb has made regular appearances on the Dorothy House TikTok page in the past few months too, sharing his personal tips on supporting a young person through a bereavement and how small actions can make a big difference.

Dorothy House Ambassadors

All our Dorothy House Ambassadors have a passion for personalised end of life care and use their unique influence, skills and experience to champion the work of the Hospice across our 800 square mile patch, stretching over Bath and Keynsham, East Somerset, North Wiltshire, and West Wiltshire.

Learn more about our Ambassadors here.