Rebecca Montacute
Fundraising for INQUEST - in memory of my mum, Julie
Fundraising for INQUEST
Story
My mum died earlier this year during a mental health crisis - during which we believe that the mental health care she received was inadequate. The inquest into her death (which seeks to determine how she came to die) is the week of the 15th of October.
In the last seven months preparing for it, the charity Inquest have been so helpful to me. Bereaved families get pretty much 0 support from the state with this process - and the charity really are filling in for what should be an essential service.
They provide independent advice on the process on their website, and gave me a caseworker who chatted through the whole case with me on the phone, gave advice on if I would qualify for legal aid (I didn't), and gave me support until they knew I had sorted out a lawyer. They have also given me advice on what to expect during the inquest itself, and advice on how to talk to the media etc.
When you have no understanding of the process and have just lost a loved one, having that support is so important. It's vital families have that help for the inquest, to make sure that as much as possible is learnt from horrible cases like mum's - please help to make sure other families can have the support we have.