Making bereavement your business
In response to a recent call to action, we’re hosting a conference, Bereavement and Loss: Time for Change!
When the UK Commission on Bereavement published its report, Bereavement is Everyone’s Business, last October, its Chair, Rt Rev Dame Sarah Mullally, said it was “incumbent upon us all to work together to improve the experiences of bereaved people”.
As part of St Christopher’s response to this call to action, we’re hosting a conference, Bereavement and Loss: Time for Change on 21 June.
The conference draws on a wide range of expertise and views through a rich and diverse group of speakers. Academics and clinical experts including Dr Lucy Selman, organiser of the Good Grief Festival, Alison Penny MBE, Director of Childhood Bereavement Network and Steve Marshall, Palliative Care Social Worker, King’s College Hospital will set the scene, describing contemporary challenges and drivers for change; then Dame Barbara Monroe, former Chief Executive of St Christopher’s, Senior Independent Director of Marie Curie, and a member of the Commission, will present the principles it set out, upon which future efforts should be based.
The day will begin by setting all of this in the context of the views and thoughts of experts by experience. Some of them contributed to an exhibition Mary Hodgson, St Christopher’s Community Action Lead and her team partnered on with Museum of London and artist Olivia Twist, who created art works inspired by some of their shared challenges.
Mary’s reflections on the way forward reflect the key finding of the Commission that bereavement is everyone’s business.
“Rather than crossing the road to avoid someone who’s been bereaved, we should be crossing it to ask them how they are – and that’s true for everyone as individuals and for organisations who should be mobilising their response,” she adds.
And if you’re not sure what you might gain from the day, Mary spells out some crystal clear outcomes: “I hope people leave the conference with a better understanding of the need to work differently, the consequences of not acting and be inspired by the positive power of community support, as well as empowered to follow a pathway for implementing a new model.”
You may also be interested in
A day in the life of…Isabel
Isabel has been a nurse for over fourteen years and cares for patients living in Lewisham
Steve N Allen: Alzheimers, COVID-19 and laughing at his mum’s funeral
Steve N Allen tells us about his experiences of loss and grief
Tom Allen: There’s so much positivity at St Christopher’s
Our ambassador speaks about his love for the hospice, his thoughts on dealing with grief, and what he imagines his own funeral to look like.
A friend for life
Holly and Belinda talk about how their friendship started in the smoking shelter at St Christopher's
