Maggie's story

I was 13 years old when my dad died. I didn’t want to talk about it with anybody. My mum started to see that both me and my brother needed some support.

Dad was a funny and cheeky guy, and he wasn’t strict. We were a close family; we were always doing things together. My favourite memories were going on holiday and visiting water parks as a family. We also used to dance in the kitchen when Strictly was on, it was lovely.

I had one to one sessions with the Children’s Bereavement team at Dove House, and as I became more and more comfortable I then started to come to the Children’s Bereavement Group. I was nervous to begin with but when I got there everyone was nice. I knew one of the boys in the group which was comforting. We played games, did crafts, played their funeral songs and I brought in a photo of Dad to the session. The group helped me talk about how I was feeling. Jill was great at getting the conversation going. She made me feel comfortable and created a safe space for me to be able to share anything that was on my mind. The best bit about the group was playing games but the most valuable bit was just talking about what happened with everyone.

We all connected at the group; we keep in touch now after the group has finished which really helps. One of the others even messaged me at Christmas as he knew it was my first one without Dad. We all know what it feels like for someone really close to us to die. Things don’t seem as fun without Dad, but the group has helped me to be honest about my feelings and see that things can feel lighter.

Maggie’s mum said:
“I cannot thank Jill and everyone else who's involved in this amazing service enough.  The smile on Maggie's face when she came out of the group sessions was such a heartwarming thing to see and it gave her the strength to speak about her dad more at home which she had been struggling to do.”