Community Interest Groups
As part of National Grief Awareness Week we meet Gill, who has been helped through her grief by joining our Community Interest Groups.
Our Community Interest Groups are open to everyone - you don’t need to have a previous connection to Farleigh Hospice.
Groups like these can support bereaved people in reconnecting with social activities, a crucial aspect of the grieving process. This helps them progress by either discovering a new passion or revisiting an activity they may have set aside while caring for their loved one. The group setting also encourages the formation of new support networks, where bereaved individuals can connect with others who share similar experiences or interests.
Gill Tindsley’s husband, Andy, died just over a year ago. Farleigh cared for him at home and then in our Inpatient Unit. Before Andy died, Gill had support from our Family Support Service and then afterwards she had counselling through the Circle Adult Bereavement Service.
Gill goes to the Farleigh Memory Makers craft workshops on the first and third Tuesday of each month. She told us, “At Memory Makers, I enjoy doing patchwork. Other members do cross-stitch, painting, knitting, crochet and origami. As a group, we have a good chat and share our experiences of bereavement. I find it very helpful talking to others. A couple of ladies lost their partners three years ago. They had felt the same as me and, while they are now further along on their journey, they totally understood how I was feeling. I have made new friends in the group. We are going out for a Christmas meal together and we now meet here at Farleigh for a coffee on the weeks when the workshops don’t run.”
Gill has also joined the Farleigh Community Choir. She explained, “After Andy died, I was finding the evenings really difficult. I enjoy singing and so I joined the choir. They are such a lovely, friendly group of people. As part of the choir, I will be singing at the Light Up A Life services this year.”
The Memory Makers craft workshops run in the Sanctuary room at our hospice building in Broomfield, Chelmsford on the first and third Tuesday of each month, from 10am to 12pm. The Community Choir meets in the Sanctuary every Wednesday (during term time) at 7pm.
For more information click HERE
