Story
30 years ago, in April 1991, Alice Middleton set up the first ever Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide (SOBS) support group from her living room in Hull. After losing her brother to suicide, Alice struggled to find anyone she could turn to for support, so she placed an advert in her local paper to find others who had been impacted by suicide loss. With that advert, SOBS was born.
We exist to meet the needs and break the isolation experienced by those bereaved by suicide.
Fast forward to 2021, 30 years on, we are now a National Charity with over 180 volunteers, offering peer led support through our group sessions, national helpline, email support and community forum. We currently have over 50 support groups throughout the UK, many of which are offering UK wide, virtual support whilst we are unable to meet face to face....and this number is growing!
When I found SOBS, I felt like I had come home because I could talk about them openly and without judgement with others who understood how this kind of loss felt
Sadly, the need for our services is growing and with that, a need for more groups, more volunteers and more awareness. Join us, as we virtually walk from the Elgin group to the Exeter group, stopping at each of our national support groups along the way, spotlighting the incredible support they're providing. Walk, run, jog, skip or sprint, 30 miles in 30 days to help us raise awareness and funds. These funds will help the national office continue to grow services to support those impacted by suicide loss for a further 30 years and beyond.
With our fundraising heroes behind us we can ensure that none of us need to suffer alone.