Liverpool bereavement café 'lifted massive weight off my shoulders'
They're due to return monthly from 2024
A woman who lost her dad a year ago says attending a pop-up bereavement café in Liverpool has lifted a massive weight off her shoulders.
The cafés were placed in different locations across the city region this week to offer support and guidance to anyone who is struggling with the loss of a loved one.
Nurses from the SWAN team have also been signposting to services and offering help and advice in private spaces.
Michelle attended one of the cafés.
She said:
"You sort of feel alone - you have family, you have partners. I have lots of brothers and sisters and we're all going through it individually and everyone's story is different, so coming there in a room full of people who don't know you, it's just easy to talk to people sometimes who you don't know or people who are going through what you're going through and share thoughts.
"It's a massive weight off my shoulders and I will be attending another one when I get time to.
"I just want people out there to know that whatever you're going through - there's lots of deaths at Christmas time and it can be a time when people are not planning on enjoying Christmas, but please do and also you're not alone - do attend a bereavement café."
The cafés are set to return on a monthly basis from January at Novotel in Paddington Village.
Emma Nunan, Bereavement Specialist Nurse at Liverpool University Hospitals, said:
"We've met people from all walks of life and we've supported a lot of people during the week and we just want to say to everyone who has come to these bereavement cafés we're so proud of you for coming forward, asking for help and offloading because we know its taken a lot to come when people are feeling so low at this time of year with their grief journey."