Charity partnership with the Home of Cricket to support bereaved children and young people

St John’s Hospice provides care to more than 4,500 patients with life-limiting illnesses and their families across 7 North London boroughs every year. As well as their Inpatient and Day Care Unit located in St John’s Wood, they provide community care, Hospice@Home, carer respite, social work support and bereavement support for the whole family.

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They are the only provider of child bereavement services in the borough of Westminster. These specialist services, which are free to all, help to reduce the negative impact of bereavement on children and young people from ages two to 25, helping to prevent young people from experiencing future problems relating to their education, social welfare, and mental health.

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This summer the hospice has launched a charity partnership with the Home of Cricket, Lord’s Cricket Ground, introducing new sports-based programmes for bereaved children and young people connected to their services.

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The first of which invites the children and young people to weekly professional cricket coaching at Lord’s, where they can learn new skills and make friends with people of similar age who have also experienced similar loss.

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Speaking of the benefits of the new programme Maria Colimao, Social Worker and Child Bereavement Specialist at St John’s, said: “We know that sport isn’t just good for the body but also the mind. Many studies have shown that playing sport has many psychological benefits for children and young people. In particular, it can help them to control their emotions and channel any negative feelings in a positive way. Something that is hugely important for children and young people experiencing grief and loss.

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As the only specialist child bereavement provider in Westminster it is fantastic to be able to expand our offering and pilot such initiatives, especially when it is with the support of our local community.”

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Speaking of the newly formed partnership with St John’s, John Donegan, Community Programmes Manager at Lord’s Cricket Ground, said: “At Lord’s we believe that sport can change the way people feel about themselves, it gives them confidence and the tools to be able to manage stressful situations. The partnership with St John’s Hospice follows on from successful work with other organisations and we are delighted to work with them on these programmes.”

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The new partnership with Lord’s forms part of the hospice’s wider expansion plan in order to increase the number of children and young people reached by their services. This comes following a staggering increase in the number of referrals they have experienced from local schools, GP surgeries and community groups of children and young people who could not access bereavement support and the tools needed to process their grief throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

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This planned expansion will allow the hospice to increase their 1:1 counselling, peer-to-peer support and creative activities, as well as introduce further new initiatives. These include a specialist art therapy group, winter activities programme and school outreach programme – helping to train educators to spot the signs of depression and anxiety connected to grief.

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To find out more about St John’s child bereavement services, or about forming a partnership with St John’s please visit their website at stjohnshospice.org.uk. Alternatively, get in touch with the St John’s Fundraising Team by emailing fundraising@hje.org.uk or calling 020 7806 4011.  For press and media enquiries please email alicia.conti@hje.org.uk.

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Notes to the Editor:

About St John’s Hospice

St John’s Hospice provides quality, holistic care to people living with life-limiting illnesses and their families. We are about celebrating and amplifying life, enabling people to live well for as long as possible. We create moments of joy and compassion both inside and outside of our hospice and work to ensure that each of our patients and their families are supported through every aspect of their journey.

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As well as our Inpatient and Day Care Unit located in St John’s Wood, we work out in the community, in people’s homes, providing care to more than 4,500 people every year across seven North London boroughs.

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Our services are free to all and include community care, Hospice@Home, bereavement and social work support, inpatient care, day services, therapies and carer respite.

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Facebook: @stjohnshospice
Twitter: @StJohnsHospice
Instagram: @stjohns_hospice
Registered charity number: 235822