Holly, aged 24, was supported by Child Bereavement UK in London after her mother died.

I can’t express how differently our lives could have looked if we didn’t have this incredible support and I know that it’s the same for thousands of other children and families out there that Child Bereavement UK has helped over the years.

When I was seven-years-old my mum developed an extremely rare lung condition. She was unwell for a number of years and unexpectedly passed away whilst waiting on life-saving surgery in March 2011. She was 44 years old and left behind my brother, aged 15 and me, aged 11.

We had no idea my mum was this unwell and, although she was suffering with her lung condition, none of us expected her to pass away including her doctors. Because of this there was no aftercare support in place for me or my family. 

My brother and I really struggled with our grief as our dad became absent from our lives as he dealt with his own grief. There wasn’t a lot of support in Wales; there was either a very long waiting list or you had to pay thousands of pounds to go private.

However, we moved to London to live with my Aunty at the end of 2011 and she put us in touch with Child Bereavement UK, where we started one-to-one support sessions - I can’t express how much this changed our lives.

At the time my brother had dropped out of school and we were both in a pretty bad place, my brother especially. The support helped my brother to talk about his feelings, giving him a safe space to open up. He struggled with his anger and the bereavement support practitioner worked with him to help him manage his feelings. The support helped me to understand grief as I was so young and had never experienced death before, but more importantly the bereavement support practitioner was someone I could talk to and to whom I could let my emotions out. I still remember our chats to this day. 

I also attended the Group for Young People where I was able to meet other children also going through grief. The sessions were amazing for me; it was comforting to be around other people who’d had a similar experience and were going through similar feelings. Losing a parent young can be an extremely lonely feeling, so I used to look forward to the sessions so much.

My brother and I had regular support with Child Bereavement UK in London over the next 18 months until we moved back to Cardiff. I still have a box of the arts and crafts things we did in these sessions, and I know for both of us it really did change our lives. 

My brother is now 30 and I am 24 and work in the charity sector. Knowing how much charity organisations like Child Bereavement UK can help someone has made me very emotional and passionate about the work I do. My brother now runs his own business and has two children of his own and he’s run two London Marathons for Child Bereavement UK.  

I can’t express how differently our lives could have looked if we didn’t have this incredible support and I know that it’s the same for thousands of other children and families out there that Child Bereavement UK has helped over the years. 

Photo: Holly (right) and her brother (left) with their mother. 

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