Earlier this Autumn, a brand-new community service became available in Nantwich and its surrounding rural areas. The service is designed to support those who are struggling to deal with loss due to bereavement. If you or someone close to you could benefit from a supportive ear, please keep reading and share this story where you can to raise awareness in the community.
Introducing the Insights Bereavement Listening Service
Maureen Coulter, Co-ordinator of this month’s community group, Insights Bereavement Listening Service (Insights), worked throughout the lockdowns of 2020-2021 as a volunteer with Cheshire East Council, leading a team of phone listeners. Whilst this work was important and vital at a very difficult time, this experience also served Maureen the realisation that people were suffering additionally in their bereavement due to a lack of support and the withdrawal of usual rituals around loss, such as funerals and wakes.
Encouraged to make a difference, Maureen was put in contact with the now current Insights’ Chair and End of Life Partnership worker, Frances Underhill. Together Maureen and Frances devised a plan to launch a free local service that would provide 1-1 listening support to those suffering with grief through loss and bereavement, delivered by local volunteers available. The service launched in October 2021.
About the Service
The service is free and offers listening support to clients who may be referred by Social Prescribers or who can take the step to self-refer; for further details please refer to the ‘Apply or refer’ section at the end of this article.
Clients are initially offered eight sessions to be fulfilled either weekly or fortnightly, however there is opportunity to extend the support course by several sessions if this is thought beneficial. Better yet, this service is completely flexible. Sessions can be taken either in a client’s home, over the internet, in a booked room in Nantwich or even on a walk. This arrangement is designed to make volunteering and referrals as accessible as possible, allowing for more volunteers to take part and more clients to receive support.
About the Volunteers
As with any community service, it is the donation of time from kind locals that ensures a service can remain available. For this specific service, Maureen’s previous experience as a counsellor, trainer and supervisor contributes greatly to its credentials with all volunteers being supported through six weekly supervision meetings whilst receiving training on listening skills, aspects of loss and safeguarding.
What’s more the service operates an ‘open-door’ policy dealing with worries and or concerns volunteers may have about clients, allowing for extended support where needed.
Apply or Refer
Insights is pleased to welcome applications from local residents who would be keen to volunteer with them, either as a listener or in a more administrative role. If you would like to volunteer please call 07942 337801 or send an email to insightsnantwich@hotmail.com.
Similarly if you, a close friend or a family member is struggling to cope following a bereavement or is experiencing anticipatory grief due to a close one’s terminal diagnosis, self-referrals are now being taken. Please call 07942 337801 or send an email to insightsnantwich@hotmail.com for further information.
Coming Soon
LilaConnect are proud to be further supporting this group by helping them enter the online space. We are currently in the process of creating a website for the group which our Community Engagement team will be funding the license for. The license will cover the next three years. We hope the new website will make referrals and volunteering an altogether more accessible and easy process whilst offering an opportunity for locals to share across the wider community, the Insight’s available support, reducing stress where possible.
