We have had to make a difficult decision about an important part of Zephyr’s support; regrettably we have temporarily paused all new referrals into our adult counselling service. This comes following an unprecedented and unexpectedly high number of referrals over several months, much more so than we have had before.
Last year unknown to the Zephyr’s team, statutory funding was withdrawn from a national charity. The funding had been providing a direct route for some Nottingham based NHS staff to refer local parents into remote 1-2-1 support. The knock-on effect of that decision has meant that Zephyr’s referrals have increased far beyond our capacity, as we have become one of the only local places to provide specialist support in this way. This has not been as easy decision to make, and we are aware it will affect many people.
Please be assured that we are working hard to increase our capacity, to challenge the decisions that have affected our work (and have impacted the support available to local bereaved families), and to make changes locally — so that we can continue to offer Zephyr’s specialised, caring, and thoughtful counselling support that so many people need and deeply value.
We are incredibly proud of our bereavement counselling service, deeply grateful to everyone involved; we will endeavour to do all we can to resume referrals as soon as possible.
This is not a permanent closure, it is a pause in counselling referrals; all of our support groups and monthly activities are running as usual, and we encourage you to take a look at our groups and creative sessions, or to sign up to our monthly support listings email so you can keep up to date with our services.
Please note if you have already referred yourself for counselling or a referral has been made on your behalf, then you are on our waiting list for counselling.
The Zephyr’s Team