6 July 2022

Free memorial service in Havant for bereaved parents

Photo: The Oaks Crematorium

A memorial service is being held at The Oaks Crematorium for those affected by the loss of a child as part of July's National Bereaved Parents Month.

The service - both in person and online - is being held by the Havant crematorium, Bereavement Care and Southern Co-op, and is for anyone who has experienced the loss of a child, regardless of age or circumstance.

There will also be two online support groups held in July to tie in with National Bereaved Parents Month. The awareness month was set up in 2020 by the charity A Child of Mine as it wanted to bring together anyone affected by the loss of a child to show them that they are not alone.

Southern Co-op will be donating £1,000 to the charity to make sure bereaved parents and families get access to invaluable emotional and practical support.

Ali Davison, Bereavement Coordinator at Bereavement Care, said: "Our team works with people everyday to help them through some of the darkest days of their lives. So we know how incredibly important it is to have a safe, confidential environment, with others that may understand what they are going through, coupled with the support from our Bereavement Coordinators. 

"We are mindful that the awareness month and the memorial service is likely to evoke a lot of emotions so have scheduled the online support groups to make sure we have resource in place to support these parents."

The free Bereavement Care service is offered by Southern Co-op to everyone in its local communities - regardless of whether they have used its services. To find your nearest Southern Co-op funeral branch, visitwww.funeralcare.co.uk/our-funeral-directors/location-map/.

The free service is designed to help and support people struggling to deal with bereavement.

The memorial service will be held at The Oaks Havant Crematorium on Friday 15 July at 6pm. To reserve your place, please emailinfo@bereavementcare.uk.

The two online support groups will take place on Wednesday 13 July from 3pm to 4pm and Wednesday 20 July from 10am to 11am.

Access links to all three events can be found via Bereavement Care's Facebook page or by emailinginfo@bereavementcare.uk.

For more information on Bereavement Care and the help available, visit https://bereavementcare.uk/ or call 08081 691922.

-Ends-

Contact:

Felicity Hay, Press and PR Officer, Southern Co-op
press@southerncoops.co.uk / 02392 222995

Notes to Editors:

About Southern Co-op

Southern Co-op (southernco-op.co.uk) is a regional, independent co-operative operating more than 300 food, funeral and Starbucks coffee branches across the south of England as well as Welcome franchise stores. The large co-operative has a commitment to sustainable business and a promise to provide a fair, fresh approach, for all. This is achieved through investment in its communities, the action it takes to protect its environment and its support for local food producers. Owned by more than 135,000 members, it has an annual turnover of £490m and more than 4,000 colleagues.