Winston's
Wish
Winston’s Wish supports bereaved children of military
families
Winston’s Wish, the charity for bereaved children, now offers a
new specialist service for bereaved children and young people from
military families thanks to generous funding from Help for Heroes.
Winston’s Wish has always offered support to bereaved military
families. However during the recent conflict the charity has been
contacted by a growing number of military families and professionals
seeking support for children affected by a bereavement in conflict.
To recognise the specialist requirements of those bereaved through
conflict, Winston’s Wish has now been able to put together a full
package of support using tried and tested methodologies to provide
reassurance to the surviving family members, and the wider military
community, with a grant from military charity, Help for Heroes.
Speaking about the specialist military programme Bill Robinson,
Interim Chief Executive for Winston’s Wish said “There was no dedicated
childhood bereavement service provision for bereaved military families,
so we are pleased that we can now offer a direct specialist service
for bereaved children, young people and their families.”
“Whilst all childhood bereavement is difficult for a child to comprehend
and deal with, the death of a loved one who dies in conflict while
serving in the military can bring additional pressure and practical
changes perhaps not experienced by other families” Bill continued.
This programme of support enables military families who have experienced
the death of a parent or sibling, to receive a full package of bereavement
support. This can include face to face meetings with an allocated
family worker, support in coping with the bereavement and access
to a residential group programme alongside other military bereaved
families. The experience gained at Winston’s Wish from almost 20
years of service delivery indicates that this is the most effective
programme of support for children bereaved through traumatic and
unexpected death.
Bryn Parry, CEO & co-founder, Help for Heroes said: “At Help
for Heroes we recognise it’s not just the men and women of the Armed
Forces, who need looking after – it’s their loved ones too. Winston’s
Wish is a great charity and we are absolutely delighted to be able
to provide this grant for them to be able to offer dedicated support
to bereaved children of military families.”
Through the support that Winston’s Wish offers, bereaved children
and young people will be able to make sense of the death and rebuild
their lives. The right support offered at the right time can have
a life changing impact on bereaved young people.
Sgt Keith Knox, currently serving in Afghanistan commented about
the service “Being a father myself it’s often the children of service
men and woman that sometimes go unnoticed when there is a sudden
loss of a parent. I have heard first hand of what Winston’s Wish
has done for children of parents who have been lost on operations
and I and my unit can not thank them enough for their work”.
To make direct contact with Winston’s Wish please call the national
Helpline on 08452 030405 or visit the website www.winstonswish.org.uk.
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