Caroline Aldridge is the founder of Remembering Together CIC, a non profit organisation supporting bereaved people through creative arts projects. During Grief Awareness Week, Caroline shares her hopes for the group
Can you remind readers who you are and what you do?
I’m Caroline Aldridge, a social worker, educator, author, textile artist, and founder/director of Remembering Together CIC My personal and professional experiences are intertwined. My eldest son, Tim, died in 2014 and that has been instrumental in shaping my priorities and direction.
We last featured you in January 2023, around the time They Died Waiting was published – how has the book been received?
They Died Waiting followed on from my first book, He Died Waiting, and both have sold well. The personal accounts of living with, or caring for someone, with mental illness, or of bereavement, have a wide appeal. Although both books include stories that would be of interest to anyone, they have also been bought, and used, by professionals and organisations who deliver mental health services, as learning tools. It has been remarkable how many books have sold given that I independently published them without any marketing experience, budget, or support. As a ‘kitchen table publisher’, I feel proud of the way I have been able to get untold stories heard.
How has life been for you since then?
Life has been very busy over the last couple of years, and I have made some big changes in my work. They Died Waiting spurred me on to try and bring in to the light mental health-related deaths and how these might be prevented. Along with Emma Corlett (who co-authored They Died Waiting with me) and Anne Humphrys (a mental health campaigner), we wrote an independent report – Forever Gone – Losing Count of Patient Deaths – which highlighted serious failings in the ways deaths are recorded and learnt from. My world was suddenly full of journalists, MPs, and senior leaders in NHS organisations. What we uncovered appeared on BBC’s Newsnight and the NHS Boards involved ratified our findings and committed to change.
Sadly, those commitments proved to be empty promises, and I realised I had done all I could to provoke improvements within mental health services. Every year, more and more people like Tim die preventable deaths. Each of these left behind loved ones who struggled to come to terms with their loss.
The memorial squares that each chapter writer created for They Died Waiting prompted me to start working on other creative textile projects with bereaved people. In October 2023, I was invited to display my quilts and other textile art pieces in an exhibition (Not Safe For Treatment) that told my story of using art as a coping mechanism, to process grief, and as a form of activism.
At the end of 2023, I took the bold step of withdrawing from working for any NHS organisations and any campaigning so I could start a charitable project supporting bereaved people through creative arts.
You’ve founded Remembering Together CIC – what can you tell us about that?
Remembering Together CIC (Community Interest Company) was founded at the beginning of 2024. It is a non-profit organisation that offers bereavement support in creative ways. I have a wonderful team of compassionate volunteers who support every aspect of our work. We all have experience of bereavement which means people know we understand how painful grief can be. Our aim is to build hope and healing through connection with others, creative activities, and extending love and kindness to others.
How is it supporting those who are bereaved?
We have a thriving Facebook group – Remembering Together – where bereaved people and those who care about them, can share the things they make or do to manage their grief.
We facilitate workshops and drop-in sessions where we use all sorts of crafting activities to support people. Our hub is North Walsham and the surrounding area, but we also go regularly to Norwich. We go beyond, in Norfolk and Suffolk, when we are invited to groups who want to experience the uplifting things we do.
Over 100 people have made memorial squares for three large quilt panels. When these are finished, we plan to exhibit them in public spaces so we can encourage people to talk about bereavement.
We have held intergenerational sessions (Buckets of Joy) where families can come together to either co-remember a loved one or have a fun experience.
We are going regularly into a cluster of local libraries with our ‘Rainbows of Hope’ crafting sessions. We also work with other organisations in the community.
The feedback from people has been overwhelmingly positive. We have encountered many people who had not been able to access any bereavement support that appealed to them. People describe our sessions as gentle, welcoming and supportive. We will always listen, but we never intrude and there is no expectation for people to talk about their loss.
How can people find out more and get involved?
We have a website rememberingtogethercic.com where details about us and our activities can be found. People can email me, Caroline, at RememberingTogetherGroup@gmail.com and I can send out details of our workshops and drop-in sessions.
The best way to get involved is to come to a session or join the Facebook group. We would welcome more volunteers for sessions, preparing craft activities and to support things like marketing or admin.
It is important to us that we can offer funded sessions to those who need them. Therefore, money is always an issue. We have been able to do what we do thanks to the generosity and kindness of people who believe in our vision. If anyone has any craft or sewing materials/equipment, we welcome donations.
We are grateful to our sponsors (Norwich Consolidated Charities, National Lottery Awards for All, and Norwich Freemen’s Charity) who have provided funding towards our activities. We still need to make up the shortfall to develop and respond to the needs we identify. There is a ‘donate’ button on our website but also a ‘shop’ where people can buy handmade goods, or craft kits, in aid of our funds.
What are your hopes and dreams for Remembering Together?
Remembering Together is founded on the premise that love and hope should be our guide. My aim is for anyone who attends our sessions to feel a sense of being cared about and included in a warm community of bereaved people.
I would like to see Remembering Together sessions available to people within their communities across Norfolk and Suffolk. Obviously, I do not have the capacity to meet that wish alone. I would love to hear from people who might like to work under our umbrella to bring Remembering Together to those who would benefit. On a wider level, I would like to see our society become more grief aware and willing to support people to engage with things that help them cope and heal following a bereavement that does not rely on talking about difficult things.
Visit rememberingtogethercic.com and Facebook; or email Caroline at RememberingTogetherGroup@gmail.com.
Featured image of Caroline Aldridge with husband Andy – supplied
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