The Garden of Grace
Nottingham and East Midlands Sharers of Bereavement by Suicide (NEM SOBS) opened a self-help, drop-in bereavement centre in Nottingham on 17th November 2009. This is a one-year funded project made possible by funds raised by the Royal Bank of Scotland in Nottingham, and a grant of £10,000 from Nottingham Community Foundation.
As far as we are aware there is currently no other bereavement service, in the UK or indeed worldwide, which offers a Garden and a self-help/drop-in bereavement centre, open to the public dedicated to the needs of the bereaved.
The Garden of Grace charity has a special concern for all those bereaved by suicide, and in particular young adults bereaved in this way. However, the Garden of Grace is open to all those who are struggling with the effects of bereavement.
Amenities
The centre is open Tuesday to Saturday 11.00 a.m. - 3.00 p.m.
The centre offers a befriending service, a place where you can drop in to help you through the day, read poems, books or magazines or chat with the volunteers.
Our volunteers are NOT COUNSELLORS, they are people who understand that sometimes bereavement takes a long time to recover from and they are willing to give their time to be around for people who just need to talk about their loss.
A Centre for you
If you have been affected by a sudden death as the result of suicide, road traffic accident, violence, war, cot death, sudden death syndrome or unexpected illness, you will know the devastating effects of shock that accompany these sudden and unexpected deaths.
Our bereavement centre is a place where you will be made welcome, where there will be others who have time to be with you.
Water and Fragrance Garden
The Garden of Grace is a small private garden (in progress) at the rear of the centre for the use of the bereaved. When completed this will be a green space where people can sit quietly and undisturbed.
In the garden area we are planning to have a Water and Fragrance area to acknowledge our recognition that those who took their own lives prior to 1961 were wrongly condemned as criminals. Many families of this era suffered not only the trauma of suicide, but also the stigma of criminality. This stigma was frequently expressed by the refusal of a Christian or dignified burial for their family member. Many of the bereaved at this time had no knowledge of the place where their family member or friend had been buried.
We hope that the Water and Fragrance Garden will provide them with a point of reference and comfort them in their loss.
How to support the Garden of Grace
Can you help by making a donation, to help us raise funds to take this charity into the future?
We welcome donations of bric a brac, books, CDs and DVDs. These can be brought to the Garden of Grace between 11.00 and 3.00 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday.
Please note we are unable to take clothing, electrical items or furniture.
Donate online here...
If you are a UK Taxpayer, you can enable us to increase your donations to the Garden of Grace by 28p for every pound by filling in and posting to us this GiftAid form.
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