Support for those Bereaved by Suicide

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:39 pm on 5 November 2019.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 1:39, 5 November 2019

Well, I respond first of all by saying how fortunate we are in Wales, Llywydd, to have groups like 2 Wish Upon a Star, organisations like Sands, and Bliss, all of whom draw on the enormous efforts of volunteers to provide help to families who find themselves in those deeply distressing situations. It's only a matter of a few weeks ago, Llywydd, that Baby Loss Awareness Week took place, and we had the annual event that I've had the privilege of sponsoring over a number of years now, where a number of Assembly Members, from across the Chamber, attended over at the Pierhead, where we were able to meet directly with people from those services, but also people who had lost a child very early on in that child's life, with a hurt that never goes away, and the need for the opportunity to talk with other people who have experienced the same thing themselves, to have the expert help that 2 Wish Upon a Star and other organisations can provide, was vividly part of the event that was held in the Pierhead. So, I absolutely commend the work that they do. I know that the health service in Wales wants to work carefully alongside them, but never to substitute for the extra ingredient that comes with people who have had that experience themselves, looking to make that available to others and to help them through an experience that they themselves have had to travel sometimes alone.