Glossary of Useful Organizations

ACT is a UK-wide charity working to achieve the best possible quality of life and care for every child and young person who is not expected to reach adulthood. It supports youngsters and their families. www.act.org.uk or call 0845 108 2201.

Brake, the road safety charity, works with those who have been injured in road accidents and those who have lost loved ones. www brake.org.uk or call its victims and carers helpline on 0845 6038570.

Care for the Family is a national charity which aims to promote strong family life and to help those who face family difficulties, including the loss of a child. Its motivation is Christian compassion. Call 029 2081 0800 or www.careforthefamily.org.uk.

The Child Bereavement Charity supports families and educates professionals both when a child dies and when a child is bereaved. Every year the charity trains around 5000 professionals across health care, social care, education, the emergency services and the voluntary sector. It also provides a support and information service (01494 568900), award-winning resources, an interactive website with online forums, and a Buckinghamshire-based family bereavement support service. It can be contacted at www.childbereavement.org.uk.

The Child Death Helpline is a helpline for anyone affected by the death of a child of any age, from prebirth to adult, under any circumstances, however recently or long ago. It is manned by volunteers, all of them bereaved parents, and is run as a partnership between professionals and parents. The helpline number is 0800 282986 and they can be contacted at www.childdeathhelpline.org.uk.

The Compassionate Friends is a charitable organization of bereaved parents, siblings and grandparents dedicated to the support and care of other bereaved parents, siblings, and grandparents who have suffered the death of a child. It has a national helpline (0845 1232304) and offers support both directly to bereaved families and indirectly by fostering understanding and good practice amongst professionals concerned with child death and by increasing public awareness. It can be contacted at 53 North Street, Bristol, BS3 1EN or at www.tcf.org.uk.

Cruse Bereavement Care, the UK’s biggest bereavement charity, offers a telephone helpline (0844 477 9400) and face-to-face support and practical advice from trained volunteer counsellors via its branch network. It also has a special website for bereaved youngsters which can be accessed via its main website www.crusebereavementcare.org.uk.

The Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths (FSID) works to prevent sudden infant deaths by funding research. It also supports bereaved families. www.fsid.org.uk or 0808 802 6868.

If I Should Die is a website which provides practical, non-denominational information to all those facing bereavement. www.ifishoulddie.co.uk.

The Miscarriage Association supports those who have suffered miscarriages, ectopic and molar pregnancies. www.miscarriageassociation. org.uk or 01924 200799.

The Jimmy Mizen Foundation, set up by Barry and Margaret Mizen, and their children, after the death of their son Jimmy (as described in Barry’s essay), works to encourage young people to play a positive role in society. www.jimmymizen.org or 0845 272 5262.

The Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Society (Sands) offers support to anyone affected by the death of a baby and works in partnership with health professionals to improve the quality of care and services offered to bereaved families. www.uk-sands.org or 020 7436 5881.

The James Wentworth-Stanley Memorial Fund was set up by a mother whose 21-year-old son took his own life. It aims to raise awareness of the causes of suicide in the young and promote research. www.jwsmf.org.