The Family Support Team play a crucial role in looking after the spiritual and emotional wellbeing of patients and their family members throughout the time the hospice is needed.
They offer services such as bereavement counselling, therapies and companionship.
People cope differently with illness, and our team at the hospice will work together with you to explore how we can best support you. You might find it helpful to talk to someone outside of your circle of family and friends in confidence. We have a variety of people who can help.
Our free emotional, social and spiritual support is available to you and to people who are important to you through our specially trained Family Support Team, which is made up of qualified counsellors, a chaplain and a team of trained volunteers. We will work to support you all through the varied and often confusing feelings you may experience.
We understand that you may need more or less help at any given time, and we respect this, so the level of support we offer will be tailored to meet your needs wherever possible.
If you would like help from the Family Support Team, please talk with your doctor, your Hospice Community Nurse Specialist or contact us by completing the form below or by calling 01934 423900.
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Read on for more information about of Family Support service…
Spiritual Care
Our chaplaincy team is part of the professional team involved in your support and care through the hospice.
Illness often prompts thoughts about hope and fears while coming to terms with major changes in yours and your loved ones lives.
Our Chaplain and Spiritual Lead, Karen Murphy, leads a small team of volunteers from diverse backgrounds. We are glad to offer spiritual and emotional care alongside or separate from religious care. We will support you, whatever you believe.
The Haven (redeveloped in 2023 as part of the Day Hospice Transformation project) contains symbols and items from different faiths and approaches to spirituality.
The support we offer through our chaplaincy services are varied; they include helping with prayer, assisting with preparing for a funeral, laying on of hands, Holy Communion, weddings, blessings, baptisms or confirmations. Our chaplain can also just simply be a listening ear!
Our chaplaincy team will not impose personal faith onto you and will endeavour to tailor the service to your needs.
Bereavement and Emotional Support
We offer bereavement support to family members and friends both before and after a death. There’s no time limit on the support we offer. Whilst everyone grieves differently, there are a number of recognised reactions to bereavement that can feel overwhelming. Our bereavement team is here to offer emotional support and guidance. Your family and those important to you can be seen together or individually.
In addition to face-to-face support, we also have helpful resources to share to deal with practical matters when someone close to you dies.
Emotional support for children
We offer support specifically for children, both before and after death. A member of our team can meet with the child at home, school or in our child-friendly facility at Jackson-Barstow House.
Creative play and stories are often useful to help them explore difficult feelings. We also have story books and literature available to help and advise parents and caregivers.
We can also link with your child’s school counsellor to ensure the child receives support at school.
You’ve got a friend in us…
Our companions offer you an opportunity to chat with someone impartial who will listen or just simply be there as a comforting presence.
They provide valuable support support to you at a time when you may feel distanced from family and friends, especially if they live far away and find it difficult to visit often.
All of our companions have comprehensive training at the hospice and are trained to enhance their listening skills, developing an awareness of how illness affects everyone in different ways and learning how to best advise on the different hospice support available.
Companions offer time on a regular or one-off basis to visit and listen either at your home. They can also help with errands and other tasks to take the pressure off of you and your family.
Please call us on 01934 423900 for more information about our volunteer companion service.
Banter, woodwork and cake: It’s easy to see why Men in Sheds is such a powerful service.
Statistically, men are far less likely to explore their emotions and seek bereavement support or practical support they need.
It was born out of the hospice’s Buddy groups in 2017 after research confirmed the above with the idea that men would be far more likely to talk if doing something practical such as building bird boxes.
Initially, the hospice put a shed in the garden of Jackson-Barstow House where bereaved men were able to come together to share experiences and get support.
However, despite interference from a pandemic, the initiative outgrew the provision at the hospice quickly. Therefore, after an agreement with North Somerset Council, our ‘shedders’ (as they are affectionately known) now meet at the cricket pavilion in Clarence Park in Weston-super-Mare.
Men in Sheds is a chance for bereaved men to come together to share experiences, ideas, enthusiasm and, ultimately, help each other through the loss of a spouse, friend or family member.
The pavilion has been turned into the ultimate place for leisure, pottering and tinkering for our ‘shedders’. The group is led by two volunteer bereavement counsellors Chris Taylor and Wayne Lawn. The pair detect when an individual needs support and duly supply it in whatever form necessary.
If you or someone you know could benefit from this initiative, please contact the Family Support Team on 01934 423900.