We run a befriending service in which trained volunteers who have also lost a baby are available to speak with bereaved parents face to face, by email or on the phone. This service is available to people living in Brighton & Hove and the surrounding area.
Over the years, this service has proved invaluable to parents. As one bereaved mother who was visited by a Brighton & Hove befriender just a week after her daughter died says, "We felt very singled out when this happened and wondered what on earth this stillbirth thing was. Being visited by a Sands befriender at home made us realise that we were not alone and gave us an invaluable lifeline in our darkest hour."
Call the dedicated befriender mobile phone number on 07799 031645. Please leave a message and one of the befrienders will call you back. This may take a few days, as the befriender service is run by volunteers, who check the messaging service weekly. But please be assured that someone will get back to you.
You can also email mail@brightonandhovesands.co.uk to get in touch with the befrienders. Again the email is checked weekly, so it may take a few days to get a response.
Support meetings
We hold local support meetings, where bereaved parents have the opportunity to share thoughts, feelings and experiences in an informal environment. These are adult-only support meetings in the evenings, which take place on the second Sunday of every month in Hove.
We also run a support group in Worthing and there is a support group in Horsham which is run by Surrey Sands in partnership with Brighton & Hove Sands.
Next support meeting in Hove
The next support meeting will take place on Sunday 8 January 2012, starting at 8pm, at Hove Methodist Church (in the Narthex, through the main doors and up the stairs) on Portland Road in Hove. Please email mail@brightonandhovesands.co.uk if you would like to attend or text your befriender (if you have one).
Subsequent meetings take place on the second Sunday of each month.
Next support meeting in Worthing
This new support group will meet on Monday 9 January 2012, from 7.30 to 9.30pm, in the new Durrington Community Centre on the Tesco complex.
Please email Michelle Simpson at michelle.simpson@aday2r.co.uk or call 07770 702950 if you would like to attend.
Subsequent meetings will be held on the second Monday of each month at the same time and at the same venue.
Horsham support meetings
There are also regular Sands meetings in Horsham.
Please
contact Ruth Summerfield if you would like to attend this meeting on 01403 276033 (home) or
07771 607611 (mobile). The Surrey Sands helpline is 07817 410075.
Publications
We keep a library of books and a selection of leaflets about baby loss, which are at all our support meetings and are available to loan or keep. We also run this website, which contains a personal experiences section where you can read about other couples' experiences of losing their children.If you would like to submit your story to our personal experiences section, please email Julie Bailey at julieh@freedom255.com.
