Leeds Rhinos legend backs Grief Kind Space for fans and local community

 Leeds Rhinos legend, Jamie Peacock, is throwing his weight behind a charity initiative supporting people who are grieving in the city.

As part of a drive to give bereaved people the chance to talk about their grief, the Leeds Rhinos Foundation is teaming up with national palliative and bereavement charity, Sue Ryder, to launch a new weekly Grief Kind Space at AMT Headingley Stadium from Tuesday 23 April 2024, between 2.30pm and 4.30pm.

Peacock has been an Ambassador for Sue Ryder’s Leeds-based hospice, Wheatfields, which cared for his father since 2019, and has raised thousands of pounds for the charity.

Peacock said: “Sue Ryder will always have a special place in my family’s heart because of the expert and compassionate care they were able to give my dad, and the time with Dad that they gave to me and my family before he passed away.

“And it felt a forward progression for the sports hero to raise awareness of Sue Ryder’s newest Grief Kind Space, encouraging Leeds locals and Rhinos Rugby fans to access the free available support.

“My grief at that time was pretty challenging,” Peacock adds. “Time does heal – the intensity of the emotions gets less, and you learn to move on and cope with things in a better way. But the sadness will always be with you.

“For me, it’s about remembering the good times, remembering what that person brought to you and understanding that while you’re sad at the time, over time that will become less and you’ll become more and more focused on the positive memories.”

Anyone over the age of 18 is welcome to pop into the Leeds Rhinos Foundation Community Hub at the AMT Headingley Stadium on St Michael’s Lane every Tuesday from 23 April between 2.30pm and 4.30pm to access the space.

Leeds Rhinos Foundation’s Health Manager, Ben Berry, added: “We are delighted to be partnering up with Sue Ryder, a fellow charity providing safe spaces for people throughout our city.

“Here at Leeds Foundation, we believe that no one should suffer in silence, no matter their situation, and through this partnership, we hope to provide a welcoming space for people to open up about their loss.

“We are really happy to be adding this service to our ever-growing list of opportunities and programmes available to those who need them.

“A massive thank you to those at Sue Ryder for partnering us with this initiative and to Jamie Peacock for his support.”

Run as a drop-in, people can attend for the full two hours or drop in for ten minutes or less to come together with others in a safe and informal place supported by trained Sue Ryder volunteers, helping them share their experience to feel heard and less alone.

Tracy Brierley is Sue Ryder’s Grief Kind Space Coordinator for Yorkshire. She said: “Quite often people feel like they are a burden speaking about their grief to friends or family, but our Grief Kind Space volunteers help remove that feeling, so people can talk, listen to others who might be experiencing the same as them, and gain support.”

The Sue Ryder Grief Kind Space, run in partnership with the Leeds Rhinos Foundation, comes following the success of other Grief Kind Spaces already established in the city at Village Hotel North Leeds in Headingley (Mondays between 10am and 12pm).

Brierley added: “We have seen such an incredible impact from our Grief Kind Spaces at Village Hotels North Leeds. It is amazing to be part of something where we are seeing people make connections and open-up about their experiences of grief. 

“We’re thrilled that thanks to the amazing support from our friends at Leeds Rhinos Foundation and our brilliant Sue Ryder volunteers, we can provide more of this vital support to many more people in Leeds.”

For details of further Sue Ryder Grief Kind Spaces opening in 2024 visit www.sueryder.org/spaces  

To find out more about becoming a Grief Kind Space volunteer visit sueryder.org/GKVolunteer or email GriefKindSpaces@sueryder.org Sue Ryder Grief Kind Spaces is not a counselling service. Anyone seeking more formal support can use Sue Ryder’s existing Online Bereavement Counselling Service and other support services.