£1m Lottery money for children suffering loss of a loved one

13 May 2016 09:47 AM

Children, young people and their families suffering bereavement will get the support they need to overcome the devastation of losing a loved one, thanks to a huge £1 million injection of Lottery funding in Glasgow.

The Big Lottery Fund yesterday (Thursday 12 May) announced 26 new grants across Scotland totalling £7.1 million. Download a full list of awards

Child Bereavement UK, Richmond’s Hope, and The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice all received grants yesterday and will work together to plug the gaps that exist in support for bereaved children and young people in the area.

The Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice, Glasgow receives £499,525, to continue and extend its existing Butterfly Children's & Young Person's Bereavement Service over the next three years. This will support children like siblings Daisy, Poppy and Noah Miles (11) from Burnside who all received help with dealing with the loss of their dad David, after he was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer at the age of 52.

Daisy, 17, said the group work and later one-to-one counselling she received made a big impact. “For me the big thing was just being able to speak about it. I learned to laugh about the good times we had. I definitely felt I needed help to do that. The way they did it in a safe environment, being able to speak about it was great. I’m so glad I went to the Butterfly Service. I’d recommend it to anyone. They really deserve to get the extra funding.”

Her sister Poppy, 13, added. “We made friends with children who had been through the same experiences as us. It became easier to talk about everything without getting really upset. It made me feel stronger.”

Welcoming the funding, Rhona Baillie, CEO of The Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice, said: “So far the specialist bereavement care and support programme has helped to support 300 children and young people from as young as two years old, up to the age of 21 who have been affected by a terminal illness or the death of someone close. This generous cash boost means the project can extend outside Glasgow to East Renfrewshire and South Lanarkshire, offering a helping hand to hopefully another 300 young people who are experiencing particularly challenging times in their lives.”

For Richmond’s Hope an award of £154,397 means the Edinburgh based charity is now able to extend its service into Glasgow for the first time.

The Reverend Elisabeth Spence from Ibrox Parish Church, where Richmond’s Hope service will be based in Glasgow, said: "Richmond's Hope have a fantastic reputation for what they do in Edinburgh and there is a real need for that service in our community, so we’re very pleased The Big Lottery are funding this project. There is growing recognition that bereaved children and young people need to be offered support that’s centred on their personal needs and provided when, where and how they wish it. The project's approach is delivered by a skilled, well trained staff team using therapeutic play and specialist grief tools. When set up in Glasgow, Richmond's Hope will have the opportunity to work and share expertise with Child Bereavement UK and The Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice.”

Child Bereavement UK, which has trained over 1700 professionals in Scotland over the past three years receives an award of £371,318. They will work with professionals providing bereavement awareness training to help them better understand and meet the needs of the grieving children, young people and families with whom their work brings them into contact.

Richard Stafford, Child Bereavement UK’s Director of Bereavement Sector Support, Scotland, said: “We are very grateful to the Big Lottery Fund for acknowledging the need for improved access to bereavement support in Glasgow. Child Bereavement UK is committed to working in collaboration to deliver first class, specialist support to children, young people and families, helping them to rebuild their lives after the devastation of bereavement. We will continue to share learnings and work together to ensure that families’ needs are being met across Glasgow.”

Maureen McGinn, Big Lottery Fund Scotland Chair, said yesterday: “Today's awards are going to 26 inspiring organisations doing all they can to support people across Scotland facing challenging circumstances.  These grants are part of our new five year £250 million funding scheme, designed to support people overcome difficulties and become more resilient. 

“Big Lottery Fund Scotland is committed to working with communities and organisations to support activity which is people centred, strength based and has good local connections.”

We’re also awarding £371,440 to 42 projects through Investing in Ideas. Download a full list of grants awarded through Investing in Communities

Big Lottery Fund Press Office contact:
Telephone: 0141 242 1458
Email: @biglotteryfund.org.uk
Website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Twitter: @BIGSCOTLAND #biglottery
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BigLotteryFundScotlandGoes to different website

Notes to Editors:

National helpline: 0800 02 888 40
www.childbereavementuk.orgGoes to different website