Southern Enterprise Awards 2020

46 | Southern Enterprise Awards 2020 Aug20626 Losing a family member or loved one at any age is a truly terrible tragedy, but losing a child is something no family should have to go through and certainly not alone. You Raise Me Up was founded in 2011 by the late Jane Brooks and her husband Fraser following the loss of their own daughter, Megan, at a time where they found themselves in desperate need of comfort. The charity was established to provide this comfort and support to bereaved families after the death of a child aged 16-25. While it is impossible to undo what has happened, YRMU helps families through, providing specialist support that says, ‘we understand’. In May 2011, seventeen-year- old Megan Brooks collapsed and passed away suddenly, leaving her parents Jane and Fraser reeling and heartbroken. They desperately sought comfort from those who had suffered similar losses, wanting to know how they could begin to get through this terrible period. Unable to find the help they needed, Jane and Fraser set up the You Raise Me Up charity in June 2011, an organisation devoted to providing immediate, specialist emotional support for families who suffered similar bereavement after the loss of a child aged 16-25. When the entire world seems upside down and the motivation to even get out of bed seems distant, YRMU is there to provide support that says, ‘we know what you are going through’. While it is impossible to undo what has happened, the team at YRMU are specialists in helping families work through the many painful and complex emotions of bereavement, hour by hour and day by day, until world becomes clearer and life more bearable. A local charity serving Sussex, Kent and Outer London, YRMU has crafted a culture of empathy and understanding that is built around staff who have the same family values and truly understand the importance of the work they are doing. Not only are all staff trained in Mental Health First Aid, but all counsellors are trained professionals who are bereaved parents themselves, enabling them to truly lend an understanding ear. The charity’s complete services are increasingly filling in the gaps left in the services offered by Best Family Bereavement Support Charity 2020 - South East England statutory and voluntary bodies. Since YRMU’s inception, the mental health support helpline has received countless calls for support not just for bereavement and the charity is working to build the necessary awareness to support these people. The Sussex Community Foundation found that in 2019, Sussex had higher levels of poor mental health within the local community than in England as a whole. Nine out of thirteen local authorities in Sussex have a higher suicide rate than the national average and this has been increasing for the past three years. These statistics have only worsened nationwide as a result of isolation from grief combined with social isolation due to Covid-19 measures, which are also linked to an increase in anxiety and poor mental health. YRMU is continually asked to help support mental health services and they do so, whilst raising awareness of the need for more specialist immediate support to combat poor mental health and prevent suicides. YRMU’s extensive services are all designed with these aims in mind for the bereaved families they work with. This includes the 24-hour mental health crisis helpline that is manned by a team of trained and empathetic professionals who are able to give advice and assess where they should go to seek further support. The charity also provides one-to-one specialist bespoke counselling that promises no waiting lists, counsellors who understand and is free of charge to users. In addition, YRMU aims to help with the financial support for funerals, which can often have both an emotional and financial strain that only exacerbates a stressful and overwhelming period. Their busy drop-in support centre in Polegate is a safe space for community, offering bereavement guidance, advice and somewhere to turn to help maintain and improve the mental and emotional health of people living with bereavement and grief. Meanwhile, in their peer support groups, families meet with others who have experienced the same loss to share thoughts and feelings, gaining emotional and moral support for all family members in a safe environment. Finally, respite activities such as bowling days and remembrance services at Christmas enable families to feel “normal” and make new memories to give them strength going forward. All of this excellent, lifesaving work is done to celebrate the memory of Megan Brooks and the legacy of her mother, Jane. While it is impossible to reverse the true tragedies in life, YRMU is dedicated to demonstrating that nobody has to go through them alone. Contact: Leesa Pattison Company: You Raise Me Up Web Address: www.youraisemeup.co.uk