REDDITCH volunteers are needed to support a countywide charity which helps people struggling to come to terms with the emotional pain they feel after losing an adult child.

Parents Experiencing Adult Loss (PEAL) started in 1999 and is a free bereavement service which helps parents whose child aged 16 or over has died. It also offers help for grieving siblings.

PEAL received a lottery grant of £134,000 but 2004 is the final year of this funding so the group will soon be making a new application using the model of service it has established.

But now, it is also looking to expand the geographical area it covers.

A spokesman said: "The death of a child at any age and under any circumstances is devastating, bringing about changes to a family and to individual's perception of the world and the future.

"PEAL works to enable people, over time, to pick up the threads of life and living so their loss does not remain forever a wholly negative experience."

The organisation needs more volunteers in this area, particularly men who can work with fathers and brothers individually or as part of the group work PEAL provides.

Volunteers must be over 18. Full initial training, ongoing professional supervision and skills development opportunities are all provided.

For more details, call 01905 723001. People requiring the support of PEAL can also write in confidence to Support Services Manager, PEAL, St Swithuns Institute, The Trinity, Worcester, WR1 2PN, email peal@pealcentre.org.uk or visit www.pealcentre.org.uk