Newtown mums' grow child loss support group in Newtown

Two Newtown mothers who lost their children have expanded a growing bereavement support network in Newtown after receiving backing from a local storage company.

The Loss Lounge, a parent led support group for families affected by child loss, has received a £100 donation from Lock Stock Self Storage after being nominated by local supporters. The company has a storage site on the Dyffryn Industrial Estate in Newtown.

The group was set up by Alice Jones and Emma Edwards, who both experienced the death of a child and found there was limited peer support available locally for bereaved parents.

The Loss Lounge meets on the last Friday of each month at Platform 1 community hub at Newtown Railway Station and now supports families from across Newtown and the wider Mid Wales area.

Alice’s son Ronnie was born prematurely and died at 15 months old in November 2021. Emma’s son Ewen was born sleeping at 36 weeks and six days in March 2024.

Alice said the donation will help the group widen the support it can offer, including a new craft based bereavement workshop for children.

“When we first started up in June we were just doing monthly group meetings for bereaved parents,” she said. “Then we started doing workshops at our groups as well. And now with the donation we have branched out and we’re doing our first bereaved children’s group workshop.

“It is open to any bereaved children, not just those who have lost siblings. People can be unsure how to talk about bereavement with their children, so it helps to give them a space where they can share with others their own age.”

The free children’s craft session is due to take place at Platform 1 on February 21 from 10am to noon, with plans to make it a regular event.

Alice, who is a finance officer with Barcud Housing Association, said the group began after she and Emma met and realised how valuable shared experience could be.

“I didn’t meet any other parents who had experienced what I had experienced, and I found I couldn’t connect with anybody,” she said. “When Emma told me about Ewen, we connected instantly. We thought, why can’t we set this up for other people?”

Since launching last year, the group has grown to 18 bereaved parent members. Referrals and signposting now come from local doctors, chemists, health visitors and hospital bereavement teams in Telford and Shrewsbury.

Alongside group sessions, The Loss Lounge also offers one to one meetings, a 24 hour WhatsApp support chat, and practical help for families who are struggling day to day.

Emma said support in rural areas can be especially limited.

“We are trying to reach more people across rural Wales because many feel left without support,” she said. “We also offer a shopping service for people who cannot face going out, and we can provide supermarket vouchers if families are under financial or emotional strain.”

Alan Brightmore, manager of the Lock Stock Self Storage Newtown site, said the company was keen to recognise the work being done locally.

“We were incredibly inspired by the work The Loss Lounge does and the support it offers to families across Mid Wales and beyond,” he said. “The group is a more than worthy recipient of the donation.”

The Loss Lounge is now exploring options for its own dedicated premises in order to increase the range and frequency of services it can provide.