From left to right: Executive Library Manager Helen Scrivener; Hugh McElhinney, Community Engagement Manager at St Elizabeth Hospice; Kellie Dimmock, Suffolk Libraries Information for Living Librarian and Roswyn Bradshaw, Court of Protection and Caseworker Manager at Barker Gotelee.
Suffolk Libraries is expanding its Compassionate Communities project this month with specialist bereavement book collections launched at Woodbridge and Aldeburgh libraries.
Compassionate Communities is run in partnership with St Elizabeth Hospice with the aim of sharing books, information and support to help people of all ages understand and manage grief.
Barker Gotelee solicitors are kindly funding a new bereavement bookshelf at Woodbridge Library which is being launched at a special event on Wednesday 4 December. The bookshelves hold a curated collection of books covering a range of subjects related to bereavement and compassion. They are appropriate for a range of ages with some devoted to helping children and young people understand grief and loss.
Aldeburgh Library is also launching their new bookshelf on Wednesday 18 December at 2PM with this collection funded by the Suffolk Advice, Guidance and Emotional Support service (SAGES).
Kellie Dimmock, Suffolk Libraries Information for Living Librarian, said:
“Working with St Elizabeth Hospice, our Compassionate Communities project aims to help anyone affected by grief or bereavement. Whether it’s directly affecting you, or someone you know, bereavement is a very difficult time but it’s something we will all face. By providing easy to access information and support we hope we can help more people to find it a little bit easier to deal with it and we can people in our communities to care for each other.”
Hugh McElhinney, Community Engagement Manager at St Elizabeth Hospice, said:
“Thank you to Barker Gotelee Solicitors for generously funding the new bereavement bookshelf at Woodbridge Library. This resource will be a vital support for many in our local community and is a wonderful example of how Compassionate Communities helps to foster conversations around grief and loss. Do visit the St Elizabeth Hospice website to learn more about how you can get involved in Compassionate Communities and explore additional bereavement resources.”
Roswyn Bradshaw, Court of Protection and Caseworker Manager at Barker Gotelee, said:
“As a firm, Barker Gotelee are proud to support charities which provide invaluable direct support to local communities. Woodbridge Library is in the heart of the community we serve and, as such, is an ideal location for our sponsored Compassionate Communities bereavement bookcase. We are grateful for the opportunity to be associated with this project, which has, as its focus, the aim of providing much-needed information and support to assist those dealing directly or indirectly with grief and loss.”
SAGES is hosted by Suffolk Libraries in partnership with Suffolk Mind and Suffolk Family Carers, with funding from Suffolk County Council’s Mental Health Pooled fund.
You can visit Suffolk Libraries bereavement support webpage to browse recommended titles and you find out more about Compassionate Communities.
You can also find out more about St Elizabeth Hospice’ Compassionate Communities project on their website and there is more information about local support groups on the Living Grief hub site.
Suffolk Libraries is also launching a new Compassionate Communities: The Grief Recovery Programme pilot at Hadleigh Library in 2025.
