BGSG gives help and support in all sorts of different ways, but there is no doubt that the support group meetings are an integeral aspect.
On Thursday we had 20 people attend, in our home, 2 of those were Uni students who are researching support groups in a hope to make a documentary.
As always the support that each individual gave to existing and new members was unbelievable, thank you to each and every one of you.
It was good to see the students chatting to everyone, with sensitivity and empathy, bringing together the generations, those who were more than pleased to help the students in their studies and the students quite obviously being very moved by the stories they were listening to.
They were a credit to themselves and University of the West of England.
It is true to say that many calories were also consumed during the afternoon, cake and chocolates!
Someone said to me as they left,” I always feel so much better after a meeting”
When I met with the students in the morning to chat to them about BGSG, I said that I don’t know why it works, but it just does. I never know how many people are coming it could be 6 or 25, but however many people come the same thing happens, people know they are no longer alone, friendships grow and out of such a dark time in their lives, the process of rebuilding begins.
It is a privilege to witness.
The morning started off with a phone call from a grandparent, who had contacted us some time ago and attended meetings, to tell me that they had met up with their grandchild and that they had received the biggest hug they had ever had, contact numbers were swapped and the grandchild left saying that they want to keep seeing them.
That says it all, that is why we say , ‘never give up hope,’ these grandparents had been apart from their grandchild for 7 years.
Just thinking of a grandparent having a hug with their grandchild will make the tears fall, a hug that needs no words.
Jane