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Bereavement Café: Beryl’s story
Grief can turn your world upside down and make you feel lost.
Our Bereavement Cafés are spaces where people can talk about the pain of loss and also find courage and strength in knowing they are not alone.
In February 2023, Beryl, who attends our Haverhill Bereavement Café, kindly shared some of her experiences with us.
“Four years ago, I lost my husband, and for the first six months, well, I sort of coped. There was stuff that needed to be done and sorted out.
“I really didn’t have time to think about anything but the practical stuff. Then everything just broke down. I didn’t know what to do or where to turn, and then I found the café, and it saved me.
“The first time I came, I think it was a little too soon for me. So I took some time and then came back four months later, and I have been coming regularly ever since.
“The café has given me so much, but what it really has done is allow me to make friends to find people I can talk to, that I can spend time with. I have made lots of friends, we meet up outside of the café and even go on holiday together.
“As a couple myself and, my husband, we did everything together. We were married for 61 years, we didn’t have separate friends, and everyone we were friends with was in a couple.
“When I lost my husband, I didn’t belong to that couple group anymore. Friends were supportive, and they obviously cared, but for me, it wasn’t the same. I was the one on my own. At the café, everyone has been through a similar experience, not the same, but we can all support each other, and we do. We talk, we listen, and we do laugh.
“Coming along can seem daunting, but the café isn’t a morbid place. It’s the opposite. It is so worth plucking up the courage and coming along.”
Could you benefit from attending one of our Bereavement Cafés?
Everyone experiences grief in a unique way. We want the Bereavement Café to be a place where people who have had similar experiences can share their stories.
The drop-in is not designed to be a counselling session; it is a supportive environment for reflection and conversation, a place where people will be able to find mutual support and encouragement when they need it most.
All sessions will be overseen by trained Hospice volunteers who will be able to offer further advice and guidance.
Please call the Hospice’s Psychological Services Team on 01284 715572 or check the Hospice’s website to identify when the next group is taking place. You can also email Psychological.Services@stnh.org.uk.