People welcomed to FREE bereavement support groups

Credit: Wathalls

Local people are being invited to attend an award-winning bereavement support group.

Fay Bloor, Bereavement Support Coordinator and trained counsellor at Wathall’s, runs four free meetings a month and offers one-to-one counselling sessions in Derby – and places are now available.

She said: “Some very firm friendships have been made from people attending Dandelions Bereavement Support. People come together to talk about their grief and how it feels to lose a loved one, finding comfort from the groups.”

“Our relaxed meetings give people the chance to share their feelings with others in a similar situation, which can sometimes be easier than talking to friends and family, particularly if those around them are navigating their own grief.”

Dandelions Bereavement Support launched in 2014, and is an award-winning service provided by the firm of funeral directors, which was set up by Helen Wathall MBE, after seeing that families in Derby needed support following the loss of a loved one.

She said: “Families would come to us to arrange a funeral, and I very quickly realised that they needed more help. It appeared that families were looking for on-going advice and I wanted to do more to support their grief journey. I chatted with my team and we set up Dandelions Bereavement Support.”

Fay now runs the groups with support from Sarah Legg, who works as a counsellor, and Helen’s daughter.

She said: “Dandelions Bereavement Support has grown so much and as a service we have had to expand multiple times. We now run four meetings a month and these are well attended. Over the years, it has been really lovely to see friendships made and people making positive
adjustments in their lives.”

“Every meeting, we give people the opportunity to talk about their loss, openly and freely, and the groups provide peer support and empathy to help everyone feel less alone.”

“With our specialist training we listen to how people are feeling and understand their grief journey.”

You do not have to book in advance to attend Dandelions Bereavement Support.

The groups run at the same time every month and you are welcome to just turn up.

Here’s where they are:

• Ashbourne Dandelions – Meet on the first Wednesday of the month, from 1.30pm-3pm at the Minor Hall, Ashbourne Leisure Centre, Clifton Road, Ashbourne.
• Derby Dandelions – Meet on the second and last Tuesday of each month from 1.30pm-3.30pm at St Peter’s Church, St Peter’s Street, Derby.
• Evening Dandelions, Derby – Meet on the first Tuesday of each month from 6-8pm at Derby Rugby Club, Haslam’s Lane, Derby.

For more information on the bereavement support services available, contact Fay via email at fay.bloor @ wathalls.co.uk.