Impact Report 2015/2016 | Page 9

the family “It was always welcoming an d happy” Geoff and Lynn Acorns family G eoff and Lynn are parents to Jes s and grandparents to Alice. Alic e sadly died in September 2014, aged just 18 months. Lynn tells us how the whole fam ily was given invaluable care and suppor t at Acorns. It’s not just about mum and dad, Acorns provides support for the entire family whether that’s grandparents or siblings “Acorns helped our family build up lovely memories of Alice. Hav ing Acorns there as an option meant that when relatives visited, they were abl e to come to the hospice rather than put ting extra pressure on Jess or us in our hom es. “The family were initially appreh ensive about visiting but Acorns always made it really welcoming and happy. It also helped distract us and take our minds off the sadness of the situatio n.” When Alice died, Acorns was the re for the family not only emotionally, but also helped Jess with practicalities; offering advice and assisting with paperw ork. Lynn said: “For us as grandpare nts, this helped take the pressure off, but it was also really important to have tha t peace of mind; to know there are peo ple caring for and supporting our daught er.” The Acorns Grandparents Gro up is a vital part of the ongoing care pro vided by the hospice, offering peer-to -peer support to grandparents in a rela xed setting. Lynn said: “It’s such a hel p to be able to chat to people in sim ilar situations, give each other sup port but also share the happy memo ries we have.” 9