Forget-me-Not Bereavement Support Group offers help and companionship to people struggling with grief
At our Woodville branch we go above and beyond the normal duties of a funeral provider in offering free support and aftercare to the bereaved, irrespective of whether they are our customers.
We have a dedicated bereavement and community co-ordinator who plays a key role in helping people to come to terms with the death of somebody they love.
Angela Bowyer, a highly experienced funeral director with qualifications in counselling, manages the Forget-me-not Support Group which is open to anyone finding it hard to cope with grief. The group meets on alternate Wednesdays at our premises in Granville Street from 10.30am to 12.30pm and 6.30pm to 8.30pm – and at Oakland Village in Hall Farm Road, Swadlincote from 2-4pm.
Sessions are relaxed and informal with members given the opportunity to talk about their feelings with each other. Some people find sharing their emotions is the best way to get over the loss of a relative or friend and move forward with their own lives.
Angela knows only too well the devastation that losing someone close can cause. Her daughter died when she was just 28 hours old, an experience that changed her life and influenced her in becoming involved in funeral and bereavement care. It also led to her setting up SANDS, a Burton support group for people who have suffered stillbirths or lost a young child.
Working alongside Angela to provide this invaluable comfort and companionship at Woodville is funeral director Lorraine Walker. Both Angela and Lorraine are well known in the area, having lived and worked locally for many years.
“The Forget-me-not Support Group is not just for relatives of the people we conduct funerals for, but for anyone who is bereaved and feels isolated by their loss,” says Angela.
The Forget-me-not Support Group is backed by the resources and caring ethos of the Tamworth Co-operative Society, which won a national Good Funeral award in 2016 for its pioneering bereavement care services.
Judges commended the Society’s funeral division for leading the way in working with the local community ‘to understand the myriad of emotions and potential difficulties they may have to endure during a bereavement.’
Lorraine Walker (left) and Angela Bowyer head up the team at the Co-operative Funeralcare home in Woodville. Lorraine is the Woodville branch funeral director, while Angela is the bereavement and community co-ordinator. They are well known in the local community, helping families following a bereavement with practical and emotional support. The funeral home hosts fortnightly sessions through the Forget-me-not Support Group for anyone who has been directly or indirectly affected by grief, either now or in the past.
The funeral division offers innovative awareness-raising events, supports local organisations working with bereaved families and hosts many other occasions that bring the bereaved together.
These include an annual Christmas memorial service organised by our Woodville funeral home when families can see candles lit in memory of their loved ones.