WHAT REMAINS
(let the memory stay sweet on the vine)

WHAT REMAINS is a creative workshop that brings together local people affected by suicide loss and bereavement. These small intimate sessions meets twice a month to explore the emotional legacy of suicide. The session runs for approx 2 x hours.

There is a peer support talking group and a creative peer group, to enable stories to be heard and shared.

Sessions are facilitated by bereavment counsellor Gilly Brooks.

verd de gris arts devised a pilot workshop programme with the support of Community Foundation for Calderdale and Calderdale MBC over the course of 2019. Its impact has been documented and the feedback from participants has been excellent. The pilot contributed to a success application to NHS England for a new region-wide service to support suicide bereavement. It also led to a screening of the film at the International Suicide Bereavement Conference in Manchester in 2019.

We believe the ‘What Remains’ creative therapy encourages participants to explore deeper, positive feelings, and, through the creative element, work towards measurable ‘progress’ in their own Recovery. Participants have begun to speak of ‘hope’ and of the possibility of developing “some kind of life” moving forward.