Category: SOULS

Our SOULS bereavement support group brings together families who understand the heartbreak of losing a child. It is a gentle, compassionate space where you can talk, listen, share memories, or simply sit quietly among people who truly understand.

Grief can feel incredibly isolating. SOULS exists to ensure no family has to navigate that journey alone. There is no pressure to speak and no expectations to meet. Just understanding, shared experience, and support at a time when families feel that their entire world has collapsed.

If you would like to attend one of our upcoming meetings, booking is essential.

Please contact Lorraine to reserve your place:
📧 Email: hello@millyssmiles.org
📞 Telephone/WhatsApp: 07555 541987

You will always receive a warm welcome, with no judgements made, just time with people who understand you and walk in your shoes.

Our SOULS group last month was quieter than usual due to holidays but we did have some new people join us. The hardest thing about our group is actually walking through the door for the first time. Once you have done that you are made to feel welcome and comfortable very quickly.

We had a lovely guest at the group – Sharon, who came along to show us how to make a selection of fabulous light up bottles. As always it was a lovely few hours spent with parents, grandparents and siblings walking the same path and navigating life without their precious child.

Our next group is on Sunday 25th March at 11am. Please get in touch if you would like, or know anyone who would like to come to our next session

Our bereavement support group was held last month and was such a lovely morning. We had an amazing breakfast platter from Brie Mine U.K. which was thoroughly enjoyed, (thank you Lauren for doing a fantastic job).

The session was kindly run by Neil from My Colourful Memories CIC and included group flower making which prompted lots of interactive conversations resulting in excellent feedback being received.

These groups are not ‘sad’ groups, we laugh, we talk about our children and we share our experiences and coping mechanisms. Only those who have lost a child will understand the devastation of living without a child, and that is why this group is not only unique, but also essential for parents/grandparents and siblings wanting to connect with those who walk the same path.

For those who regularly attend we are able to provide specialised one-to-one bereavement counselling with our fully qualified and registered Counsellor, if needed. This takes place in our specially adapted ‘quiet room’ within our unit at Great Harwood.

Our groups are and always will be completely free to attend, just drop us a message or email to let us know you are coming and we will be ready to welcome you.

Our next session is Sunday 25 August.

Are you or do you know anyone living without their child?

Milly’s Smiles run monthly bereavement support groups for parents, grandparents and siblings.

Our groups are completely free to attend and are very relaxed, giving you the chance to meet other families living with the loss of their child.

Each session we will do some creative therapies which can be anything from candle making to planting tubs and planters.

Whilst we understand that walking through the door for the first time can be very daunting, we will make you feel so welcome, and safe, and there will never be any expectations from you.

At our last group we made crystal bracelets – it was a fun afternoon spent crafting and talking about our children.

Please get in touch if you would like to join us – 07555541987.

Our unit was full of love and laughter at our February SOULS group. It was lovely to welcome new members to the group and they very quickly settled in and became part of our ‘family’.

We challenged ourselves to learn how to crochet and out of all the different sessions we have held this is the one where we laughed the most – and that’s so important at our group.

Laughing and feeling joy for however brief a moment is something many grieving parents feel guilty about, how can we laugh and smile when we have lost a precious child?

Our groups offer a safe, caring environment for bereaved parents, grandparents and siblings to come and share thoughts and feelings without any judgement at all.

Please get in touch if you would like to join us or know someone that would benefit from coming along – 07555 541987.

Our monthly support group met last Sunday (21st Jan), for our first get together of the year. We were joined by several new parents alongside Natalie who is the Lead Nurse in Bereavement and Tissue Donation at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals in Preston.

Natalie joined us to get an insight into the work we do and to take the opportunity to speak with families who were with us, in order to gain a greater understanding of our support group and the difference we make.

Natalie told me “the unit is lovely, a bright welcoming environment and I can see how people who make the difficult first step to attend are instantly made at ease by the environment and of course yourself. The idea of the activities works so well. Observing people supporting each other first in the task then developing to the emotional support they needed was an honour to witness first hand”.

Spring Bulbs was the theme for our activities, we decorated pots and planted beautiful hyacinth’s, daffodils and lots more. It was a lovely few hours spent with people who you just know understand you, and as one mum said as she left with her pot, “there was a lot of joy in the room”.

Our next group takes place on Sunday 18th Feburary, please get in touch if you would like to attend – hello@millyssmiles.org.

On Sunday we held our monthly bereavement SOULS group (support, optimism, understanding, love and strength) and the theme was Christmas Wreath making.

Despite us all having experienced the worst loss imaginable, our groups are supportive, fun and filled with people with the most beautiful hearts.

There was an abundance of creative activity today and by the end of the session everyone was thrilled with their wreaths.

We were given brilliant tuition and guidance from the wonderful Debbie at Ewood Florist and it was such a lovely morning with lovely people.

Massive thanks to Debbie for sharing her skills with us and huge thank you to Asda at Accrington for funding the morning.

Finally, thank you to everyone who comes along to the groups, I know how hard it is to put a smile on your face and turn up for the first time, not knowing what to expect, wondering who will be there and what the expectations of you are.

Always know that there are no expectations, that you will always be very welcome and if you can’t quite find your smile that day, we got you.

Yesterday we held our SOULS support group, and it was such a lovely relaxing morning, beginning with coffee and fresh pastries, followed by some great pumpkin carving which produced some very unique and fabulous designs.

Everyone who came was also treated to a wonderful massage by Laura’s,MySpace4you which proved to be very popular.

Our groups are every month, and open to parents, grandparents and siblings and are totally free to attend. Please contact us if you would like to join our next group on November 26th.

Special thank you to Laura for donating her massages and also to Accrington Asda for the generous donation of pumpkins.

We continue to hold our SOULS bereavement support groups each month, and this month we received some lovely feedback from one of the ladies that attends.

“Your meetings offer a relaxed environment to talk, whilst we are all engaged in craft activities. Having a craft to do means I can choose throughout the session, whether to join in the conversation or focus on the craft if there are times I don’t want to talk”.

Our groups are all about being present, with people who understand and with whom we share a common bond. This month we spent the hours painting pebbles, and again there were some great creations. We all seem to be discovering hidden talents!

Our groups are open to parents, grandparents and siblings, and are free to attend.

Please get in touch if you would like to know more.

You don’t move on after loss, but you must move with. You must shake hands with grief, welcome her in, for she lives with you now. Pull her a chair at the table and offer her comfort. She is not the monster you first thought her to be. She is love. And she will walk with you know, stay with you now, peacefully. If you let her. And on the days when your anger is high, remember why she came, remember who she represents. Remember. Grief came to you, my friend, because love came first. Love came first.

Donna Ashworth – ‘Wild Hope’

Our 4th SOULS meeting took place last weekend, it warms my heart to see these lovely people arriving at the unit, open to spending time with strangers who are now becoming friends.

We share our stories, our joys and our heartbreaks, we have an unspoken understanding because we are the same, we walk to the same path in life and we are ultimately joined by an invisible bond.

As we work on our chosen crafts we wonder if our precious children are watching down on us, proudly saying that’s my mum/grandma/sister/brother.

Along the way we manage to create some fantastic pieces, at our group this month we worked with resin – and some fabulous designs were created.

Our groups are open to parents, grandparents and siblings who has experience the loss of a child – they are completely free to attend. Please get in touch for more information.