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Sponsored by: Little Fingers
Plea:
Life After Loss is an organisation run entirely by volunteers to support those that have lost a child at any stage of pregnancy or after birth. We offer emotional and practical support to families, as well as advice and support for those working and interacting with and around families that have suffered a loss. Our aim is to make the tragic experience of losing a child ever so slightly more bearable, and the journey of grief afterwards more tolerable. And most importantly of all, make families aware they do not have to go through this terrible tragedy alone.
We say that we would rather be able offer everyone who suffers a loss help immediately, and have some people turn that help down and find their own way, than have any one person leaving the hospital with no access to our services…not knowing where to turn or who to ask for support. We strive constantly to make ourselves known to health professionals, bereavement services, community leaders and networks to make this a reality, so that every family has access to as much or as little support as they feel they need. We try to tailor the support packages we provide from family to family, because no two people will deal with grief in the same way….so we believe support cannot be a ‘one size fits all’ structure.
A vote for Life After Loss is a vote for the blood, sweat and tears of the unpaid volunteers that put in so much time and effort. It is a vote for the kind hearted people that donate whatever they can to our charity to keep us ticking over and able to help those in need. It is a vote for the crazy and kind community we are all a part of but wish we never were. If you are one of these people (and I suspect you are) then please vote for us…it really is a vote for yourself!
As a charity that relies completely on fundraising to operate, volunteers assisting in the raising of funds is an essential part of the running of Life After Loss. We can never thank our dedicated volunteers enough for all they do. We have had the old and the young…marathon runners, bungee jumpers, abseilers, quizmasters, pamper parties, race nights, bag packs and much more in order to provide the level of care and support families feel they need. These people are the real heroes behind the charity. They donate their time, money, skills and bravery to ensure families do not have to suffer more than absolutely necessary. Most, if not all of them have been personally touched by loss, and they want to ensure that our services are there to make the tragedy of losing a child even just a tiny bit more bearable….that although the worst thing in the world has happened to them, they are receiving the best care to see them through this dark time. Any award or nomination for Life After Loss is really an endorsement of how absolutely tirelessly these people work and how dedicated they are to such an important and personal cause for every single one of them.
Life After Loss have volunteers that host monthly support groups nationwide, giving family members an opportunity to share memories of their precious babies, seek out information, ask questions and hear other families experiences. It can help to hear from someone say, a year further along than you are, hearing that it generally does get more bearable over time, even if special dates and even small things can set you back here and there. Strong bonds are formed between families at these groups and many loss victims have become firm friends in and outside the group, finding comfort in meeting and sharing with people that truly understand what they are going through, having suffered similarly themselves.
Below are comments from just a few of the families that have used our services:
“What Life After Loss does for families who have lost their babies is one of the most selfless things I have ever encountered. Our group leader has turned a tragic episode in her life into something which inspires her to help others. We meet together all having experienced the same loss to share our different stories and support each other, my husband and I go when we can and sometimes when we need her most, but she is there every month for anyone who needs her, regardless. Though many of us have no living children, she continues her work despite having gone on to have other children. Others may have stopped supporting baby loss once they got their own happy ending, but that is what makes her so special, she carries on sharing her story and helping others to share theirs. She’s a really special person who we are fortunate to have in our community.”
“Life After Loss gave me someone to talk to when I felt like there was no one else going through the pain that I was feeling, they also made me feel like it was OK and helpful to talk through my feelings and that I was not going crazy. I got to a very very dark place and having that shoulder to cry on and that listening ear showed me the light”
Training is provided to our volunteers on bereavement, grief processes and dealing with different models of grief, mental health and suicide awareness, assisting and supporting bereaved children/siblings and much more. Life After Loss has also assisted Debbie Yates in hosting a clinical study day (which is now to be an annual event) aiming to improve services for bereaved families across the UK. This is just one of several opportunities where we have been lucky enough to work with and advise health professionals, coroners, police, bereavement services and funeral directors with a collective aim to prevent babyloss where we can, and where we can’t, to make losing a child more bearable. We know we can never take away the pain of losing a child when it happens, but all these wonderful people communicating freely and positively, and working together is forward thinking and inspiring to see…that so many people are striving to help and support parents and families and prevent or minimise the suffering of so many.
We also host events throughout the year give families the opportunity to remember their babies, and meet other families in similar circumstances. We hold annual balloon releases, a butterfly walk, woodland walks, Christmas events, and memorial services. We work independently and also with other charities with similar aims to proved as many opportunities as possible. We intend to introduce even more events across the country in 2016, reaching out to more families and involving younger family members, such as siblings. We are also looking into setting up rainbow baby toddler groups as parents have suggested there is a need for such a group.
We provide memory boxes to all families that lose a baby at Warrington hospital, as well as to several other hospitals nationwide that have contacted us asking for a supply of boxes. We are willing to supply boxes free of charge to any hospital that contacts us. We also provide memory booklets to each neonatal unit in the North West, with a view to offering boxes once more feedback is gathered.
The memory boxes are a solid cardboard ivory box with ivory ribbon to tie closed and contain a blanket, a pair of teddy bears, support information, a pin and wristband, forget me not seeds, a candle, a memory card for photographs and a memory booklet designed by a volunteer at the charity. Since introducing the boxes in 2011 feedback from families has been very positive, saying the boxes become a fitting tribute to their baby, a beautiful way to document and remember and a good starting point to move forward with their grief, having this to come back to, full of memories.
This year we have raised £10,000 to provide Warrington hospital with a piece of foetal monitoring equipment which will save the lives of many at risk babies and put the minds of bereaved parents more at ease.
For several months last year we worked with FERNO to create the ‘cradle of care’ which enables hospitals and funeral directors to transport sleeping babies with comfort, care and dignity. FERNO took the project in hand and made the charity’s idea (which came from feedback from health professionals) a reality. They were and absolute joy to work with, truly caring about the sensitive nature of the product and the need for the little touches to be perfect in a profoundly imperfect situation. It is a collaboration the charity are very proud of and now FERNO can provide cradles of care to any hospital, hospice or funeral director for a very reasonable price, realising this is not a product for profit, but a deeply important part of the process of saying goodbye to a precious baby. We are now working on more new ideas on the back of this project and hope to see some exciting results in 2016.
We helped with the remodel of the butterfly suite at Warrington hospital, and for the ongoing upkeep. Feedback from families using the suite is very important and we try to listen and implement improvements constantly where we can.
Life After Loss would like to say thank you for the nomination, thank you for every single vote, and an even bigger thank you to everyone who keeps the charity going, award or not, everyone who crosses our path is a superstar with a very special little winner in their hearts.
What others have said:
The charity provides memory boxes with a bespoke memory book, inkless wipes & card for handprints and footprints and other memory making items all free of charge to any hospital who would like them. The charity are always very supportive of bereavement work undertaken not just at Warrington Hospital but nationwide and are very deserving of this award, well done.