Saint Catherine’s Hospice, Scarborough, UK
Thursday 19th September, 2013

I had the pleasure and privilege of organising this occasion as a means of disseminating information about other local services that may be of use to our bereaved clients. In the audience were our volunteer Bereavement Supporters, some of our clinical supervisors and staff members from other departments in the Hospice.

Nine local charities sent speakers to deliver a 30 minute presentation. Either the Chief officers or a knowledgeable representative. The charities were (click on each charity to go to the web pages):

The Cambridge Centre
Community Counselling
Scarborough and Ryedale Carers’ Resource
Scarborough Survivors
Age UK Scarborough
Scarborough, Whitby and Ryedale MIND
Scarborough, Whitby and Ryedale Advocacy Alliance
Relate North East
The Sungold Group.

The feedback from the day was uplifting, and the following day, colleagues were stopping me in the corridor to say how much they had gained from the event. I was struck by the skill, enthusiasm, dedication and passion of each speaker, showing just how well this patch of North Yorkshire (1000 square miles, population 250,000) cares for its people. It is great to know how many services out there are available to support bereaved people whatever their needs and difficulties. The cost to the statutory sector, were these charities not so effective, would be staggering.

On behalf of Saint Catherine’s Hospice Bereavement Support Service, may I thank everyone who freely gave their time to support this event.