Features / Bristol Charity Advent Calendar 2020
Bristol Charity Advent Calendar 2020, day 14: The Harbour
As a charity providing counselling for people facing death or bereavement in Bristol, The Harbour has seen demand grow significantly this year.
The number of referrals over the last three months are double what they were for the same period in 2019 as many of the normal rituals and services to help the grieving process have been restricted.
The vision of the Frogmore Street-based charity is that everyone in Bristol has a safe space to talk and be listened to when they face death, dying and bereavement.
is needed now More than ever
But it has not been an easy year for The Harbour, which had to cancel face to face sessions at a time when they were most needed and adapt its services to enable them to continue through the pandemic with a switch to video calls.
The Harbour’s Sam Thomas says: “With Covid-19, our counselling service is needed more than ever before. The impact of the pandemic is unprecedented and people with a life-threatening illness have had to shield alongside their partners or family members. Sadly, some people have faced death isolated and alone.
“In counselling, people can confront their most challenging responses to death, dying and bereavement. We do not believe in strategies, or good and bad ways of responding to these experiences. Instead, we believe the opportunity to talk with an experienced therapist can empower people to find ways of working through their situation.
“For many of our clients, counselling has been a lifeline as they faced illness, death or bereavement during the pandemic.”
One client said: “It’s helped me to think about some of the hard decisions that I have to make regarding the care for my partner. I feel as if I am over the initial hurdle of non-acceptance of the whole situation to now accepting it, and sometimes being able to take one step back to look more objectively at what is best for my partner and also myself.”
The Harbour has launched a campaign to raise the funds necessary to reach more people affected by death, dying and bereavement: www.justgiving.com/campaign/thehabour-covid19.
Main photo courtesy of The Harbour
Read more: Bristol Charity Advent Calendar 2020, day 12: Wellspring Settlement
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