Care for the Family Bereaved Parents' Network- any experiences?

[zeebee]

Just wondering whether anyone has had contact with/been helped by Care for the Family and if so, your thoughts on the organisation and the help they offer. We have been passed details on a network day and are considering attending but feel a bit apprehensive.

If you've been to any of their events dis you find them helpful and was the Christian perspective heavily emphasised?
TIA

hi just wanted to say hello

Care for the Family are wonderful.
I haven't been to any of their events but receive the newsletters and have been 'befriended' by someone in a similar situation when I needed it.

It is a small enough charity to be really friendly, caring and personal.

They phoned me up after I had my DS to see how I was coping and if they could help - lovely, lovely people.

I hope they are as nice and helpful to you too.
X

Thanks coggy. Not sure about befriending just yet, though they were lovely when I phoned for more info about the event. Do you mind me asking how much their Christian perspective was emphasised in your contact with them? It's not necessarily an issue but feel I need to know as much as possible before I decide to do anything about contact, that goes for other organisations too.

I don't think it was mentioned at all actually zeebee.

They are a Christain charity but they are there to support families of all types so I guess their Christian-ess is in the way that they are rather than what they preach IYSWIM.

Have you read any of Rob Parsons/ Care for the Family books?
Again, they are all really practical and may mention Christianity somewhere but not obviously I don't think.
It may be worth getting hold of one or two and having a read through so you can get a general feel for them.
HTH.
X

Oops....also meant to say that I only spoke to my befriender on the phone twice. It was enough to make me feel that what I and DH were going through was normal.

I am most definitely NOT someone who likes to talk about how they feel etc. etc. so it was a weird experience when I started off saying I didn't really have anything to say and then yabbering on for the next 40 minutes or so!!!!

They try to get a person who has been in a situation as similar to yours as they can. No-one had had a full-term still-birth which I went through, so I spoke to someone who had suffered through a cot-death. I was rather worried that she would tell me all about her grief etc. which, at the time, as mean as it sounds, I wasn't intersted in, but she was FAB and we talked mostly about how our DHs were dealing with it which was something we had lots in common with.

Hey look - I've waffled on again!!
Maybe I am the sort of person who talks to people without even knowing it!!!