Butterflies Bereavement Support was created 4 years ago, to meet the growing need of supporting the emotional and physical needs of those aged 16 plus who have experienced the loss of a loved one or a friend through death. They have developed in this time from a community organisation run by a handful of volunteers to a registered charity working in the community for the community and make great steps forward in transforming the lives of people who struggle with the effects of losing someone special.The demands of their services are immense, and for the past two years they have rented venues out for different groups and counselling sessions. They are looking to create a dedicated and accessible bereavement support centre that meets the growing needs of their work in one place. 

They also support people who are suffering from the bereavement of loosing someone through suicide, it’s such an important support. 

For me, I didn’t want to reach out to anyone, I tried to deal with it on my own. Always being ‘too busy’ to deal with my own grief with my children to think about. Recently I listened to a friend who is going through the same as me who has had support from this charity first hand and now she is part of the charity. Hearing her positive thought process has inspired me to reach out. 

The first step is asking for help as if your like me, you don’t ever want to open up to anyone. The thought of burdening them with your grief just adds to your suffering. My friend talked about opening up to a stranger, scary right ? But actually she put a spin on it that has really helped me see it from a different perspective. This is what urged me to make that decision to act and make that first contact. She said that to open up to a stranger you can actually be quite selfish in a way, as you can open up without that guilt of putting your emotions onto someone else. As that’s what they are there for, to invest in you, support you with no judgment, they want to generally be there for YOU and YOUR needs. 

You can own your own grief, your own experience without the feeling of more grief being put on you or even your grief being pushed aside or invaluable to some. Because inevitably it’s your life and your feelings, this charity gives people a safe place to express yourself and get non-judgemental support.

So as you can read I’m very passionate about supporting this charity, any help you can offer would be gratefully received. I know it’s hard times and I’m asking a lot, but even if I ask that you share this story it may reach out to others and give them awareness that there is help out there for them too xx

So much love to you all xx

Jodie xxx