Covid19 bereavement groups set up by Buckinghamshire woman
There are now 32 local groups, with more being added daily.
After losing her father in April a Buckinghamshire woman felt more support was needed.
There are now over 33 local 'Covid19 Families' groups across the country, and a national one, but it all started after Debbie Lewis looked for support when her father died in April.
Trying to find information on registering deaths when offices were closed, to knowing what cars were allowed in a funeral procession were difficult.
Now, with local areas having different restrictions what is possible/advised can be completely different depending on what tier a place is in.
Debbie Lewis says members of the 'Covid19 Families' groups offer practical advice as well as emotional support:
"There are people all over the country, in every county of the country who know how it feels.
"If you haven't been bereaved during the pandemic you have no idea how hard it has been. Because of the lockdowns many have also grieved in isolation, alone and with very little support.
"Thankfully with today's technology they don't have to. They can message, call and video someone in their area. The idea of putting people into regional groups is that the person they speaking to is someone in their area, someone who understand their restrictions."
Although supporting people is one of the key aims of these groups, Debbie understand some members may need to access services to help them cope with their grief.
Currently the Buckinghamshire group is working with local services in Milton Keynes, however the goal is to make sure each one is able to sign post to more in depth support:
"These are grieving bereaved families and individuals across the UK who are supporting one another, and giving eachother advice and friendship.
"They are basically bridging the gap between the lack of bereavement care for the people who are going through this, not just us who have lost someone because of Covid but those who have lost someone during the pandemic.
"What I really need is counselling services, for councils, to come forward and say 'We are here, if you have people that are struggling please forward them onto us or ask them to contact us.'
"We need to make the councils aware of who we are, what we do and why we exist."