An award of £828 from the Richi Rootz Foundation has contributed to the running costs of a drop-in facility for bereaved parents at the Laura Centre.
Common issues they are able to provide support with include high levels of stress and anxiety, inability to concentrate or sleep, disruption to other relationships and overwhelming grief that can make normal everyday living seem impossible.
The Centre conducts thorough evaluation, including before and after questionnaires for bereaved parents who access their support, which show significant positive change. 100% show an improvement in mental health and wellbeing and reduction in distress, anxiety or depressive symptoms with 83% showing a significant improvement (where scores reduce by 25% or more), and 61% seeing scores reduce by more than half.
Parent/carer’s questionnaires given out before and after intervention also show a significant improvement in the scores of the children and young people worked with through ongoing tailored counselling and therapeutic sessions.
Since it was set up in 1991, the Laura Centre has supported thousands of bereaved parents, children and their carers. Over time, the service provided has evolved and adapted to meet changing needs, and today the Centre provides free, compassionate, specialist, individually tailored bereavement counselling and therapeutic support to anyone affected by the death of a child or to bereaved children.
If you’d like to support local charities and groups by setting up your own fund with us, please contact Katy Green at Leicestershire & Rutland Community Foundation on 0116 262 4804 or email: katy.green@llrcommunityfoundation.org.uk
