When I lost my sister-in-law to suicide, my husband and I were left having to care for my beloved nephew, who was just nine years old when his mum died.

As a family, we had a real struggle coping with our own grief, and our children’s grief, as they were very close to their aunt.

We had to sort out a lot of things legally through social workers and social services, whilst pursuing legal guardianship for the care of our nephew. While help was there for him, though, my husband and I received little or no support.

We heard about the SAFE project and made a phone call. I remember the first night my husband and I attended the group. We felt immediately like everyone understood what we were going through, and we received really good care through talking and complementary therapies. Crucially, support was also offered to our boys.

Without these critical services, I don’t know how we would have got through the whole ordeal. The staff are fantastic and are always there for us. My husband and I have been offered so many opportunities for training and development following our recovery.

Because of the great support and advice we received, we wanted to give something back. Now we are volunteers with the SAFE Project, supporting others who are facing what we faced.

Jill, (35) 

Read more about the Extern SAFE Project