We work with Emergency Departments, Critical Care units, Organ Donation teams and Neo-Natal units across Wales and our serviceable areas in England to ensure that every family who lose a child or young adult suddenly and unexpectedly are offered a memory box at the time of death. The plain white memory boxes contain:
Extra boxes can be requested for other family members. Unless you have lost a child and been faced with mortuaries and undertakers, you can never truly appreciate what a memory box would mean to a bereaved parent.
Every parents experience is different, but some parents never receive a lock of their child’s hair or a copy of their child’s hand and footprints. Having just lost their child, many parents leave the hospital in shock; they can feel very isolated and unsure of where to turn for support. The memory box, along with a supporting information pack that provides practical guidance on ‘what to do when your child has died’ are given to the family in the hours following the death of their child.
2wish offer immediate support after the sudden and unexpected death of a child or young person aged 25 and under. With consent, details are passed on to 2wish, usually from the hospital or police and, once the referral has been received, contact will be made with 24-48 hours by one of our Immediate Support Coordinators.
Once initial contact has been made, the Immediate Support Coordinator will arrange a home visit as soon as possible. Home visits and ongoing telephone support will continue for as long as the family and the Immediate Support Coordinator feel it is appropriate and beneficial.
Home visits usually take place for the first time prior to the funeral. Every family deal with their grief in a different way, but most families welcome the support and guidance at an early stage when they feel lost and struggle to arrange formalities such as the funeral or registering the death. Our Immediate Support Coordinators can offer advice and guidance and help to navigate these processes at a time when daily life is particularly tough.
The immediate support is not time limited, allowing individuals to access in their own time, thus supporting their individual needs. Immediate support can be offered to anyone who has been directly affected by the death, including family, extended family, friends, witnesses and professionals.
Referrals to the service are usually via the police or hospital, but we also welcome referrals from friends, relatives and even neighbours of families that have lost a child suddenly and unexpectedly.
