Commissioners

The Dove Service provides high quality, confidential counselling and support to those affected by bereavement, life-changing or life–threatening illness and significant loss. For illness and loss we can work with the sufferer, their carers, family, friends and others.

We also offer a series of awareness workshops and training modules in related topics such as loss and grief, bereavement, listening and basic counselling skills and others. Our training is designed for professionals, volunteers, other adults as well as for those being cared for or various client groups where we can train groups to form Peer Mentor Groups so that those trained can provide support to their peers.

We operate across Staffordshire and South Cheshire with all age groups and client groups; after all, death, illness and loss will affect us all at some point, or points in our lives.

The services training that we provide can feed into practically all agendas and strategies, for young and old and everyone in-between and for people with all abilities.

The consequences of not supporting individuals during times of significant loss can be profound and have large and long-lasting negative effects on individuals limiting their life chances and achievements. For instance, if the main income earner dies, or is taken severely ill, the household may not be able to pay the mortgage or rent, the surviving family members may need to move home or down-size, the children may then need to move school and lose their friends, the family may not be able to afford the holidays and life-style that they had been used to. If the surviving spouse finds it difficult to cope they may turn to drink or other negative coping mechanisms, they may become depressed, disinterested in the children; they and / or the children may become angry and take that anger out on other members of the family or into the school, onto the street, or elsewhere. The children’s grades may slip, their attendance at school may become erratic, they may end up being excluded. Anti-social behaviours may develop, the police may become involved and individuals end up with a criminal record; social services may become involved and in extreme situations the children removed from the surviving parent ….. and so many other possible and potential negative scenarios.

Through timely and appropriate intervention and support none of the above highly negative consequences need happen.

The Dove Service works in partnership with many other agencies, both statutory and voluntary and are able to add value to the work of many other services.

Get in touch

To find out more about the work that we do, our workforce development training, our preventative and early intervention services that we offer or any of the work that we are currently undertaking please contact any of our managers:

Dr Simon D. Hankins, Chief Executive Officer: simon.hankins@thedoveservice.org.uk

Jill Jenner, Service Delivery & Development Manager (internal projects) jill.jenner@thedoveservice.org.uk

Charlie O’Dell, Service Development & Delivery Manager (external projects) charlie.odell@thedoveservice.org.uk

Or telephone 01782 683 155.