Postcode Parents - helping bereaved families

Aim

Please donate to help us support families bereaved by knife & gun crime.

Who are we?

The Charlie Burns Foundation are a Hackney based Charity set up in the aftermath of a senseless knife attack which resulted in the murder of 19-year-old Charlie Burns, in 2014.

Postcode Parents are a support group run by The Charlie Burns Foundation, who run weekly supports sessions for families bereaved by knife crime, gun crime & serious youth violence. 

The weekly sessions give these families a time and space to connect to those with similar experiences. 

Since Covid-19, we have been running Postcode Parents remotely via zoom which has allowed those from across the country to participate.

What’s the problem?

• Serious youth violence is a Public Health issue 
• In 2019 there were 148 deaths due to knife and gun crime, 56 of those fatalities were aged 25 years old & under (37.84%)
• According to MET police figures, Hackney has the 4th highest rate of serious youth violence in London
• With the ease of lockdown there has been an increase in serious youth violence
• There have been 55 murders due to knife & gun crime in London since January 2020, which means there are 55 families experiencing trauma due to these murders
• Families bereaved by knife crime, gun crime & serious youth violence suffer from severe emotional trauma, psychological issues and health problems
• There is a lack of support from government agencies for the victims, families and wider community affected by knife & gun crime 

How Postcode Parents provide solutions

Postcode Parents support group run weekly support sessions, that provide a shared environment for those traumatised and bereaved through knife and gun crime, giving them a safe space to speak freely about their individual experiences 

The support received provides the parents and their families comfort through their grieving process which benefits their psychological and practical well-being. 

Why we need your support now

Due to their traumatic experiences, many families experience emotional, psychological and health problems.

Counselling is sometimes offered by statutory organisations to those bereaved through homicide or murder. However, the offer of therapy may not always be an appropriate time for these victims, as they require specialist support at different stages through their grieving process.

When ready for therapy, families are often told to self-refer and are put on a waiting list for up to 3 months. Once receiving therapy, there are limitations on the length it is received. 

Some of our users are prone to self-isolation. Postcode Parents support group and outreach encourage these users to engage in social settings. Being in lockdown and told to stay at home, forced these users to self-isolate themselves and we fear of the psychological impact of them no longer having this regular social interaction and support. 

How will your donations support Postcode Parents?

Postcode Parents desperately need your financial support so we can focus on the specific needs of our users.

Your donation will enable us to provide a specialist counselling service and the option of alternative therapies (yoga, massage, meditation) for Postcode Parents users and their families. These therapies may prove useful as coping mechanisms towards the improvement of the health and well-being and social identity of these families. 

We hope these practices will help to improve the physical, emotional and mental well-being of these  families that have had a child taken away from them by knife crime, gun crime and serious youth violence.

How far will your donation go ?

• one 1-2-1 specialist Child counselling session costs approximately £70
• one 1-2-1 specialist Adult counselling session costs approximately £80
• one group session specialist counselling session cost  £120

.

This project successfully funded on 22nd July 2020