This annual report will give you an overview of the support that CHUMS has offered over the last year to the local community of Bedfordshire and will also give some insight into the activities planned for the forthcoming year.

Once again we have been extremely busy with 348 children and young people referred to the service along with their parents/carers. This is almost the same number as last year so thankfully we seem to have reached a plateau. It would be very difficult to deliver quality care with a continuing increase in referrals.

We have trained another 26 volunteers, bringing our total now to 84 active volunteers, which is fantastic. During this course we trained three bereaved parents who have used CHUMS for their children and themselves. This was a new venture for us and has already resulted in our new volunteers connecting with newly bereaved parents who have been bereaved in a similar way. Feedback has been very positive. Without the support of volunteers we would not be able to offer the level of support we do.

Due to ongoing changes to service delivery and trying to manage our time more effectively we will be training 20 volunteers this year beginning in May, leaving the Autumn term free for our new parenting course. This will bring the volunteer total to 104 and training for 2007 will be postponed to ensure that current volunteers are able to participate fully.

We have recently introduced volunteer teams, enabling volunteers to feel part of a smaller team. Teams at present have 12 or 13 volunteers in them and have a team leader.

This year has also seen us organise a pilot project in conjunction with the Bedfordshire and Luton Healthy Schools Scheme. This has enabled us to train a member of staff from 23 schools across the county over 4 days which in turn enables those schools who participated to have a staff member trained to the same level as a CHUMS volunteer. This means that bereaved children in these schools have access to support when appropriate as indicated in the paper “Every child matters”, focusing on emotional health and wellbeing.

Following consultation with parents we have recently started a bi-monthly ongoing support group and have two groups running, for those bereaved through the death of their child and those bereaved through suicide. We also plan to start a group for those bereaved through the death of their partner. These will run concurrently and be facilitated by staff and volunteers, enabling parents to share with each other and find strategies for coping not only with their grief but also with their children!

Friends of CHUMS are in the process of applying for charitable status and have excelled themselves this year through fundraising and donations which has enabled them to sponsor many of our events and activities and to provide some of the extra special resources we use with the children.
Last Summer was an exciting time as I was able to attend the World Gathering on Bereavement in Vancouver and present a workshop entitled “Sharing the Journey: Children, Loss and Grief”. It was an amazing experience to meet with several hundred others and to learn more about bereavement. I came away with many useful ideas for working with children to promote meaningful conversation.

Although 2005/6 has been another excellent year for CHUMS it has not been without difficulties. However, the children and their families have always remained central to our vision. I am very thankful and really appreciate everyone’s commitment and dedication to making a difference, which is so important.

As I look to the coming year I see that the future is full of exciting possibilities!

Thank you for your support.

Dawn