Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Blackpool Football Club Community Trust are coming together to support National Grief Awareness Week.
The week, which runs from 2-8 December, is organised by The Good Grief Trust, and encourages people to make connections, unite communities and help raise awareness of grief and the support available for people suffering.
The NHS Trust and football club are among organisations across the Fylde Coat community coming together to support the week. The event will culminate in the lighting up orange of landmarks across the area including Blackpool Tower.
Jackie Brunton, Lead End Of Life Care Nurse at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals, said: “Grief has hit more of us than ever in the last 18 months. We want to encourage people to talk about grief and loss, to recognise the support that is available and how they can support each other.
“Grief affects everyone at some time in our lives, and along with the specialist services available to help, it’s often the small things we can do for each other that make a difference.
“This year the awareness week is promoting the benefits of activities including stopping for a chat, checking in on neighbours, putting the kettle on and going for a walk-and-talk.”
Blackpool Football Club Community Trust is supporting the 2021 campaign.
Rachel Leaver, Community Navigation Manager at the Trust, said: “This year we are all incredibly excited at the prospect of a Christmas together with our loved ones after it was taken from us last year. It is a time of hope, excitement and cheer as it should be for everyone. However, it is also important to consider those who may be feeling differently.
“We cannot hide from the fact that there has been a great deal of loss over the last 18 months and for some this will have come from nowhere and have been a great shock. They need our support and contact, now maybe more than ever.
“To every member of our community in and around Blackpool, I hope you have the most incredible Christmas and if you know someone who may have been affected by grief then checking in on them to make sure that they are feeling ok may just be the Christmas wish they have been searching for.
“However, if you are feeling lonely, then try to speak out and talk to others, this will have a positive impact on yourself and your story could become someone’s hope.”
Among the support it provides members of the community, the Trust runs a programme called Pool Together, where it works in the local community to reduce loneliness and isolation by providing people with access to activities and friendship.
Rachel added: “We would encourage anyone to find support groups in their area.”
Members of the public can show their support by lighting a candle or displaying a light in a window throughout the week. Meanwhile, Blackpool Tower is among the landmarks being lit up orange as a symbol of our community’s togetherness this year.
For more information visit the Good Grief Trust website here:
https://www.thegoodgrieftrust.org/
Or the Swan bereavement team at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals here:
https://www.bfwh.nhs.uk/our-services/end-of-life-care/
To contact BFCCT email info@bfcct.co.uk