DYING MATTERS LAUNCH CREATIVE WRITING COMPETITION

The Dying Matters Coalition, led by the National Council for Palliative Care (registered charity no. 1005671), is holding a writing competition to encourage more open discussion of dying and bereavement.
The judges will be looking for original writing in which the author’s feelings and thoughts about the end of life have been well crafted into a piece of work that attracts the reader’s attention and retains their interest.

• Entries: maximum 2,500 words of prose or 40 lines of poetry, in English
• No entry fee
• You may submit up to three entries 
• If someone is unable to write themself, a transcription will be accepted
• Prizes: 1st £200, 2nd £100, 3rd £50 plus highly commended certificates
• All entries considered for publication
• Closing date: midnight on 31 March 2012.

Visit www.dyingmatters.org/finalchapters for full details.

COLIN MURRAY PARKES WINS TIMES STERNBERG AWARD

Cruse Life President, Colin Murray Parkes, has been awarded this year’s prestigious Times Sternberg Active Life Award. The honour, designed to recognise older individuals who make a significant contribution to public life, comes in acknowledgement of the great advances Colin has made in the field of grief support, both in the UK and abroad. We congratulate Colin on this well-deserved achievement and are extremely proud to have his guidance and support in all of Cruse’s endeavours.

‘FOOTPRINTS... WALK AND REMEMBER'’

It's here! Join the Cruse team on Saturday 17th September 2011 on a 4km walk around Richmond park. It’s set to be a fun day out, suitable for all the family!

We are looking for people who enjoy a sociable ramble, so if you would like to join us at this great event, perhaps walk in memory of a loved one, and help Cruse Bereavement Care raise much needed funds, please click here to contact Mala for more information and to register, or call 020 8939 9552.

If you are already taking part and would like to start raising money straight away, please click here to set up a fundraising page for 'Footprints... walk and remember' on the JustGiving website. You can also click here to print out a registration form, fill it in and return it to us at PO Box 800, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 1RG.

NORTHERN IRELAND CONFERENCE: "Journey into Hope"
Supporting bereaved children and young people
Thursday 29 September, Templepatrick
With keynote speakers and seminars, this is a day conference for those who want to know more about child bereavement or who are working with children and young people. Please click here for details of the event and for booking places.

LICHFIELD AND CANNOCK BRANCH CELEBRATES 30 YEARS
Bereavement support workers gathered in Lichfield on Friday July 7 to celebrate 30 years of providing a service to local people whose loved ones have died.

Members of the Cannock and Lichfield branch of Cruse Bereavement Care were joined by Mayor and Mayoress of Lichfield District Council, Cllr. Brian Bacon and Cllr. Norma Bacon; the Sheriff of Lichfield City Council, Dr. Neville Brown; Chairman of Cannock Chase Council, Cllr. John Beddows; Chair of Burntwood Town Council, Cllr. Eric Drinkwater at their AGM in St Mary’s Centre, Lichfield (photo by Phil Beecher) to mark their thirty year milestone.

Other guests included representatives from some of the many organisations which provide support for Cruse and Professor Hugh Burkhardt, from the Shell Centre for Mathematical Education, University of Nottingham, whose talk, The Law of Unintended Consequences rounded off the evening.

The trained bereavement support volunteers provide an understanding and sympathetic ‘listening ear’ for people who, for whatever reason, are having difficulty understanding their grief. They are supported by telephone helpline staff and a small number of adminstrators who are also volunteers and who work from their own homes.

Speaking to Cruse volunteers and guests, Cannock and Lichfield Cruse chairman, SueWilliams, said: "We listen to and support people struggling with their feelings of grief in Lichfield and surrounding villages, Burntwood, Rugeley and Cannock. Most of our referrals come from GPs, and there is a rise in the number of children and young adults we are seeing."

Paying tribute to volunteers and funders she added: "We are proud of the work we do in our communities but we couldn’t do it without those who give their time and expertise without payment, or without the generosity of our funders whose donations cover our costs."

Please click here for the history of the branch.

MINISTER LAUNCHES CONSULTATION ON CORONER SERVICE
On June 10 2011 Jonathan Djanogly, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Justice, announced the launch of a consultation on the draft Charter for the current coroner service. This consultation runs from Thursday 19 May until Monday 5 September 2011 and it is open to everyone who has an interest in the coroner system.
Please click here for the consultation paper and questionnaire template for responses on the Ministory of Justice website.

Public Bodies Bill: reforming the public bodies of the Ministry of Justice
This consultation, launched on 12 July, runs until 11 October and includes the Office of the Chief Coroner. Please click here to find out how to participate on the Ministry of Justice website.

THE HOME SECRETARY TALKS ABOUT IT - but do you?

Home Secretary, Theresa May joined bereavement support volunteers from Cruse Bereavement Care and local Mayors in Berkshire showing support for Dying Matters Awareness Week at a special roadshow to encourage families to talk about their end of life wishes.

Visitors to the roadshow were urged to break the last taboo - talking about dying - and to draw up a bucket list with the five things they most wanted to do before they died.

Please click here to see a press release

THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE SUPPORT CRUSE’S ARMED SERVICES WORK

The Royal Wedding Charity Fund has just closed, and Cruse, one of the 26 charities chosen, is set to benefit. The Royal Couple set up this gift fund for those wanting to give to charity to help the couple celebrate their wedding.

Cruse was delighted to have been one of the 26 charities personally chosen by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to benefit from this fund, selected on the strength of its work with the Armed Services and their families.

To find about more about the fund, please click here to see the Royal Wedding Charity Fund website, or see below for more details on how our project provides vital care to those bereaved by a death in service.

Debbie Kerslake, Cruse’s Chief Executive, said: “To have been selected by Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton was a great honour and a testament to the vital care that Cruse’s volunteers provide for those suffering from the impact of a bereavement. We hope that recognition from the Royal Wedding Charitable Fund will allow us to extend our specialist services for those in the Armed Services and ensure that all our brave service personnel, as well as their families, can access the highest quality support when the need arises.

"At Cruse we passionately believe that all those facing bereavement deserve exceptional care but that those in the Armed Services and their families will have specialist needs. Demand for our Armed Services work continues to grow and we are thus delighted that the royal couple have generously chosen to recognise the life-changing work of our volunteers, something which we hope will enable us to expand our services in future."

Please click here to see also an interview on British Forces News.
Please click here to see the Royal Wedding Celebration Tea held at Cruse Bereavement Care central offices.

Why those affected by a Service death can need specialist care:
Any loss can be devastating, but there can be factors specific to military deaths that complicate the grieving process. In particular, many service children are bereaved when young and, as they mature, they will revisit the death.

A death in service can affect people in a number of ways, for example:

• The often sudden and violent nature of the death
• The fact that the death often occurs far away from home, making it harder to process. In particular, children can often cling to the hope that the person who has died will return at the end of their tour, as they have always done in the past
• Intrusion of the media and the intense coverage of the death, repatriation, funeral and inquest. Young people in particular might become angry or upset and feel that their loved one is “public property” and no longer their own. Children who have lost someone close can re-experience grief when they see media coverage of another death and recall their own loss
• The service inquiry and inquest can take years to complete. During this time the family may be living in a state of suspension with the primary focus being on the death
• Siblings of deceased young soldiers can feel isolated and unsupported, as the focus is likely to be on the surviving parent(s). Indeed, many suppress their own grief as they try to support their parent(s)
• The surviving family might have to move out of service accommodation following the death and feelings of instability can complicate grief, particularly with the loss of the family’s existing community and support networks.

How Cruse helps:
Cruse provides an accessible, individualised service supporting people in their own homes or at a community location. Support is provided whenever it is needed, in the immediate aftermath of a death or months or even years later.

As well as the face-to-face support provided by specialised volunteers, Cruse also offers a helpline, email support and a range of useful websites and publications. It also trains professionals who come into contact with people bereaved by a service death, from defence specialists to teachers and healthcare workers.

The Armed Forces project is led by Jenny Green – herself a war widow with extensive experience of identifying and responding to the needs of Service families - and steered by a user group made up of those who have lost loved ones whilst serving in the Forces. It also has an advisory group made up of representatives of the Ministry of Defence, the three Services’ welfare sections, SSAFA and the Royal British Legion.    

Case Study: Charlie
After his younger brother was killed by enemy fire in Afghanistan, 24 year-old Charlie referred himself to Cruse for help in coping with his loss.

22 year-old Sam had been an intelligent and popular young man who, after having dropped out of university, was passionate about his new army career. As Charlie remarked: “everyone has a niche in the world and the Army was Sam’s” Although his family were nervous about Sam being sent to Afghanistan, the young man looked forward to his deployment with excitement.

Tragically, Sam was killed shortly after he arrived in Afghanistan in late 2009, and although Charlie was informed of the death, the young man could not accept that his brother would never return. Charlie told Cruse that even though he knew in his heart that Sam was dead he never stopped hoping that a mistake had been made and that when Sam’s official end of tour date arrived so too would Sam through the font door. Sam never did walk through the door.

Charlie was also angry that he could not protect Sam as his older brother and angry that Sam had found something that he excelled at and enjoyed only to have it cut tragically short. The Cruse bereavement volunteer worked with Charlie to help him accept that his grief would not always be so frightening and painful and that over time he would be able to remember Sam without feeling guilt and a sense of injustice for Sam’s short career in the military. Charlie has since been able to move forward within his own life and understands that Sam chose the armed forces as this is what he loved and where he filled his “niche in the world” and that although his time was short, he loved his days in his regiment and would never have chosen any other path.

As part of its Armed Services Project, Cruse has:

• Developed a DVD – 'Behind every headline is heartache', which highlights specific aspects of bereavement related to a death in the Services  
• Developed new training for volunteers
• Developed new leaflets for Services personnel and their families, as well as for schools
• Launched a new section of the Cruse website dedicated to supporting the bereaved military family
• Worked with the Bereavement Team at the Royal College of Defence Medicine Birmingham (Selly Oak)  
• Increased the awareness of where to go for help amongst the Armed Forces 

Please click here to see our information and advice for families bereaved in the armed forces.

THE BIG HUG
Please click here to take part and help us in our work to support bereaved children and young people.

When his wife and children were killed in a road accident, Andrew Gitsham was left with two choices: "I could sit there, paralysed, doing nothing with my life, or I could pick myself up and try to move forward." Read his inspirational story about how, with help from Cruse, he picked himself up. Please click here for Andrew's story on the BBC website

Information about Cruse for journalist and those working in the media
Find out about Cruse local training courses and seminars around the country