Wathall’s Expands Bereavement Support Services
Family-owned Wathall’s funeral directors has launched a bespoke services for local businesses, organisations and charities to help bereaved staff and stakeholders come to terms with their grief.
The Dandelions Grief Journey support and education programme enables people to understand the grief process and learn how to cope with life moving forwards.
Single or regular sessions can be held virtually in the interim and then either in the workplace or an external venue.
Sessions are run by a team of trained facilitators from Wathall’s which is Derby’s longest-established funeral directors and has been supporting local communities since 1858.
Everyone who attends receives a free bereavement journal which has just been introduced and is a safe place for people to express memories, thoughts and feelings.
Wathall’s Managing Director Helen Wathall MBE, who is the fifth generation of her family to run the company, explained: “As businesses and organisations start to move out of lockdown, there are going to be many people who are struggling to come to terms with losing a loved one – whether from Covid-19 or other causes.
“People in this position have been experiencing a wide range of emotions from isolation to loneliness and returning to the workplace may not be easy.
“By working with individual businesses, charities and organisations, our goal is to tailor the Dandelions Grief Journey programme to the specific needs of their staff and stakeholders.
“This may be to provide support to individuals or to raise overall awareness of the grief process and how people can develop strategies to cope with the ‘new normal’.”
The programme is part of Wathall’s Dandelions Bereavement Support which offers – once lockdown restrictions are eased:
- Free four-week Dandelions Grief Journey programmes for the general public
- Dandelions Bereavement Support groups which currently meet virtually in place of the regular meetings in Derby and Ashbourne. They are free to attend and bring people together to share time and experiences with others on a similar path
- A free collection service, in partnership with The Salvation Army, to collect or receive textiles, clothing, accessories and shoes when families are ready to sort through the clothes and possessions of a loved one who has passed away
For more information about Dandelions Bereavement Support, please contact Wathall’s www.wathalls.co.uk, call 01332 345268.