St Elizabeth Hospice and East Coast Hospice have announced the launch of Walk On, a walking group run by the St Elizabeth Hospice’s bereavement support service, LivingGrief, to provide support to the communities of Great Yarmouth and Waveney.
Taking place on 17th March the first Walk On meet saw a number of people join to take part in a 45 minute walk, starting at 2.30pm from Sparrow’s Nest bandstand in Lowestoft.
Open to all who have been bereaved, even if they have had no previous support from St Elizabeth Hospice, Walk On provides the opportunity to meet new people, talk about shared experiences and offer support to one another. While also enjoying a sense of physical and mental wellbeing brought by walking in the outdoors.
It also provides an additional step to St Elizabeth Hospice’s LivingGrief pathway for bereavement support and signposting further support available, while also serving to decrease isolation and provide an informal setting for companionship and peer-to-peer sharing of experience.
Hanna McDowell, Head of Therapy & Community Care Units at St Elizabeth Hospice, said: “It was brilliant to bring our Walk On project to the communities of Great Yarmouth and Waveney, alongside East Coast Hospice.
“We began hosting Walk On meets in the Ipswich and East Suffolk area, in the autumn last year, and found them to be a great way of bringing people together, to support one another.
“All are welcome to join our Walk On groups and we will be hosting many more meets in the coming months, with full details available on the St Elizabeth Hospice website. So please do get in touch as we are keen to meet lots of new faces.”
The launch of Walk On in Great Yarmouth and Waveney, by East Coast Hospice and St Elizabeth Hospice, follows the recent news of their collaboration to achieve sustainable palliative and end-of-life care for communities in this area, which was announced in February.
A collaboration which will build upon, and work in conjunction with, the existing service between St Elizabeth Hospice and East Coast Community Healthcare. A joint-partnership which, since April 2019, has delivered specialist palliative care support to more than 2,700 patients and their families in Great Yarmouth and Waveney.
Discussions between East Coast Hospice and St Elizabeth Hospice to determine the clear features which will form their joint service are still ongoing, with more details set to be released later in the year, but Walk On represents an important milestone in the two organisations joint aim to support the local people of Great Yarmouth and Waveney.
Acting Chair of East Coast Hospice, Bridget Lowe said: “This is a great opportunity for East Coast Hospice to be involved with, especially with the new service being provided by St Elizabeth Hospice for our local community. I am sure this will become a regular, well supported and valued event.”
The next Walk On meet is to take place on Thursday 14th April, meeting at Sparrow’s Nest bandstand once more.
To find a full list of upcoming Walk On meets visit www.stelizabethhospice.org.uk/walk-on or call 0300 303 5196 for further information.