PARENTS whose grown up son or daughter has died can now get help through the traumatic years which follow, thanks to a £134,000 lottery grant.

The cash boost for the charity Parents Experiencing Adult Loss (Peal) means it can expand into Wyre Forest for the first time.

The new service will be launched at a seminar in Bromsgrove next month.

The organisation supports parents and siblings after the death of a grown-up child.

Support services director Diana Williams said the death of someone close whose life is cruelly cut short can be extremely hard to bear.

"The death of a child is a profound loss regardless of their age - parents can feel a similar deep grief whether their child is young, a teenager or middle-aged. It defies the laws of nature."

The charity provides support immediately after bereavement and can help parents organise practical issues, while also offering emotional support and contact with people who have gone through a similar experience.

Trained volunteers offer counselling at home and support groups meet regularly. The service also has a telephone helpline on 01905 723001, answered in person on Tuesdays, 7.30pm to 9.30pm, and Fridays, 3.30pm to 5.30pm, with an answerphone at all other times.

The lottery grant - from the Community Fund - will support the service in Wyre Forest for the next three years.

The free launch seminar, aimed at professionals working with the bereaved but open to all, is at the Spadesbourne Suite at Bromsgrove District Council in Burcot Lane, Bromsgrove, on Wednesday December 4, from 9.30am to 1pm.

To book a place or for more details about Peal contact Diana Williams on 01905 723001.

A genuine lifeline...

A MOTHER who lost her 20-year-old son last year in tragic circumstances paid tribute to the PEAL charity, calling it "a genuine lifeline".

Angela's son Joe killed himself while visiting Notting Hill Carnival in London. He left no note and his family don't know what triggered his suicide.

"Joe had so much life ahead of him. He was my youngest of four children and for him to be in a graveyard now is surreal."

She contacted the organisation PEAL at the behest of a friend soon after the death.

"Diana from PEAL was wonderful, a very calm and experienced woman. Her initial advice was to take each minute, each hour at a time and not to think too far ahead. I have since had one-to-one counselling organised by PEAL and am part of a parent support group.

"Time has not been a great healer for us. The grief still dominates everything - it can be so overwhelming. I have been suicidal and have not wanted to go on, the whole family has been badly traumatised.

"But Angela and the PEAL team have always been there at times of crisis. It has been a genuine lifeline for me and I know they will always be there to help. Anyone experiencing the death of their child in any circumstances needs all the help they can get."