Aviva Community Fund provided £175 of match funding
Thrive
Wigan, England, United Kingdom
Aim
To continue to support families who are battling terminal illness, bereavement and crisis, made so much harder with Covid19.
Imagine yourself: being told you have an incurable illness and only months to live - the ripple effect that diagnosis will have on your family and loved ones; imagine all the things you'd want to do in whatever time you had left .... then being told that you must 'SHIELD' , not permitted to see family and loved ones, confined to your home, limited treatment options and at unprecedented risk; isolated and unable to get even the basics, like shopping and medication. No longer able to tick off that bucket list, appreciate the things that are so often taken for granted - like walking in the park, visiting favourite attractions, spending time with loved ones. During this time of social isolation, I'm sure so many of us are looking forward to and planning for what we'll do, where we'll go after lock down is lifted - but for many of our families, they just may simply come too late.
Our journey ... Living With Life was birthed from personal experience and since May 2015, we have sought to support families through life limiting illnesses, bereavement and times of crisis; with an emphasis on an early intervention and preventative approach for mental health and well-being; through a companion type support service. Our model is built upon the concept that sometimes even the smallest bit of input at the point of crisis for a family can radically change the trajectory of a person’s life in the long term. Our support involves coming alongside the family as a companion, assisting practically initially, providing a listening ear and a contact at the end of a phone; to signpost to particular services if necessary and to hopefully stand by them, empower and equip the family to go on to live life to the full again.
Why is there a need ... Our own personal experience has been that loosing a loved one, is excruciatingly painful, especially if it's, what'd be considered 'before their time'. Grief can bring around all kinds of complications, such as family conflict, anxiety, panic attacks, addictions; that we believe all stem from seemingly insignificant small decisions. Our model is built upon if you can have the smallest involvement in a persons life at point of crisis you have the ability to change a persons life trajectory massively in the long run.
Example of this ... If someone has just lost their wife and is unable to sleep, they may feel that a drink or two may be a good solution; but then that's not enough, so they need more and more, stronger and stronger; and so the wrong thought of 'I need a drink to sleep' or to 'just get through this day, this event, this occasion' slowly becomes a behavioural pattern and habit, and before long, an addiction. Through relationship with families, we've had many conversations about things like this and been able to advise and support, sometimes signpost to other forms of more productive help. This may seem a small insignificant issue, but in the long term has major ramifications for that person's life and whole family.
Family conflict is another common big issue we've found, as everyone handles grief differently, has their own opinions of how things should be handled and done; which at point of crisis, when their loved one passes away, can have devastating effects that are often irreparable on the family unit. We have found that many things like funeral planning, having a will in place, communication of what happens next, their loved ones wishes documented; all take the pressure off at what is a very traumatic time.
We believe that ... if a family is supported and empowered to: 'Say Goodbye Well' and 'Grieve Well', it is possible to 'Rebuild life well' and to go on to live life to the full once more.
Our Support ... is companion based type support services, where we build a strong relationship with the family and journey with them for the duration; seeking to empower and equip them at every stage when needed. Our experience has taught that there is no 'one size fits all' approach to grief, in fact it's as unique as your fingerprint; so it's vital that our staff are there to really listen to what the family needs, not just what the emotion or circumstance seems to say. For example one of our ladies was extremely anxious, struggled sleeping; her GP had offered anti anxiety medication and sleeping tablets, however she did not want to take them (we must say this approach isn't relevant to everyone, as for some people medication is really helpful! But) After talking to her, going through the things on her mind and would keep her awake, it was clear her ironing was a big concern; wanting to keep on top of her husbands work clothes, but it taking half an hour for her to do a shirt and completely exhausting her. We took the ironing away, with the promise of returning it the next day, which we did; that night she slept straight through! Sometimes little things make a BIG difference!!
Examples of families we are a companion for ... Elderly couples with no dependents or direct family, one of which has terminal cancer; a young family with small children - daddy has terminal cancer; a young family with small children, mummy passed away not long ago; a number of ladies and gentlemen whose partners have recently passed away; families who have children with life-limiting illnesses; individuals who have lost their partners or have no family support who are battling life-limiting illness; individuals who are just finding life really hard going after hitting crisis, bereavement or just the affects of pre-existing mental health related troubles that have been surfaced due to Covid19.
What has Covid19 meant for us ... We have needed to diversify what we provide massively to ensure that families are still able to have access to support when they need it. Our strength is that we're always working with each family to find the provision that best supports and empowers them as a family; so on that angle this is nothing different. However the way and type of support we can provide, has been very challenging with them needing to shield and to keep them safe. We are constantly having to reassess and re tailor our provision.
All our normal avenues of self help groups, fund raising, income have had to be put on pause; it's had a massive impact on our finances. Our staff have been doing as much as they can voluntarily and we've had a great team of volunteers who've helped as well; but the reality is, our staff have families of their own and need to be paid for the work they so diligently and fabulously do. The funding will enable us to continue providing every family and those who are reaching out to us daily, especially with so many people loosing loved ones to Corona, with the direct support they need.
What difference your help will do ... simply put ... WILL BE LIFE CHANGING!
Living With Life currently works with 30+ families, which is around 450 people across the Borough - as well as 40+ other families who are involved in our self help and community groups. The finance generated, will empower us to be able to continue to provide the vital support and companionship to families, that will take the pressure off and empower them to live well during this difficult time.
There is SO much uncertainty ahead of us all, so many things that are out of our control, so much that we can simply do NOTHING to help with or change - their diagnosis, Covid lock down restrictions, their need to shield - but what we can do is be there for them and journey with them, lifting the load, being a listening ear, supporting, helping practically and journeying with them every step of the way. Your support will empower us to do just that!
IMAGINE YOURSELF ... At the start we asked you to imagine yourself - how did it feel? Now we ask that you imagine if that support was cut off and your only life line was taken away because of a simple matter of lack of funding! But you can make a difference today, every penny raised goes directly into supporting the families!! IMAGINE THAT -
You could be the one making a difference to that family -
YOU CAN BE A LIFE SAVER TODAY!
THANK YOU FOR EMPOWERING US TO MAKE A MASSIVE DIFFERENCE IN FAMILIES LIVES!!
This project successfully funded on 22nd July 2020