With support from Child Bereavement UK and The Childhood Bereavement Network, we have launched a petition to government to uncover the true scale of childhood bereavement. If we know how many and where the bereaved children of the UK are, the services that exist to support them can better plan, reach out and ensure no child grieves alone.
Please support us by signing the petition and help us move one step closer to building a society where no child grieves alone.
What is the petition asking for?
Currently, there is no official data on the number of bereaved children in the UK, all we have is estimates.
Our petition calls for the government to start recording official figures to capture the true scale of childhood bereavement. This could be achieved with a simple administrative change, such as by updating the UK death certificate to record if the deceased has dependents.
We aren’t asking to create new services or for huge amounts of funding. We’re asking for a simple administrative update that has the power to change the lived of thousands of bereaved children now and in the future.
Please sign and endorse our petition to uncover the true scale of childhood bereavement.
Once signed, please share the petition with your friends, colleagues and contacts and encourage them to do the same. We’ve even created a ‘I’ve signed’ badge you can post on your social media. Please tag us @winstonswish and use the hashtags #NoChildGrievesAlone and #petition
Below are some images you can share on social media. Just click on the one you would like to share to open it up, right click and save to your device:
Why do we need to know how many bereaved children there are?
Estimates suggest that over 46,000 children under the age of 18 are bereaved of a parent every year. However, we fear the scale of childhood bereavement is far bigger than the estimates suggest.
Because we don’t know how many bereaved children there are, or where they are in the UK, our services are often invisible to those who need us most.
With accurate data, Winston’s Wish and the other incredible organisations working in the childhood bereavement sector could:
- Form a picture of need and demand for youth bereavement services locally, regionally and nationally
- Focus plans and resources to meet the greatest need
- Discover where needs are and aren’t being met
- Strengthen the case for funding and support in an area that often struggle to be heard
- Validate the experience of children and young people, acknowledging that their grief matters too and giving them access to the tools they need to rebuild their lives
The very real fear is that the scale of youth bereavement is far bigger than the estimates suggest. If we don’t know how many children and young people are bereaved, we fail to reach and provide the support they need to rebuild their life around grief.
Without support, unresolved grief in young people can lead to an increased risk or youth offending, family breakdown, failure in education and employment and long-term mental health conditions. But not every young bereaved person has to follow this path. We’re calling on the government to begin recording the scale of childhood bereavement. We aren’t asking for changes to services or huge amounts of money; this could be a simple administrative update to the UK death certificate.
Letizia Perna, Director of Services and Service Transformation at Winston’s Wish
At the age of 12, I experienced my dad’s murder. I received no help until my 20s, yet a simple administrative change could’ve made me more visible to get the support I needed. This is why the change is so important, because there are thousands of children and families that would benefit from the support of services that exist to help them, if only they were on their radar. This will change lives for the better.
Mark Lemon, Winston’s Wish Ambassador
Sign our petition
Please support us by signing the petition and help us move one step closer to building a society where no child grieves alone.
Once signed, please share the petition with your friends, colleagues and contacts and encourage them to do the same. We’ve even created a ‘I’ve signed’ badge you can post on your social media. Please tag us @winstonswish and use the hashtags #NoChildGrievesAlone and #petition
Below are some images you can share on social media. Just click on the one you would like to share to open it up, right click and save to your device:
Winston’s Wish is a charity with 95% of our running costs being funded by donations. In turn, we deliver all of our support to grieving children and young people for free.
You can help us to continue our vital, life changing work by making a donation, taking on an event or challenge or organising your own fundraiser. Our friendly fundraising team are on hand to help you every step of the way.
