Sudden bereavement

What happened?

A woman was suddenly bereaved after her partner was killed in a collision on the roads.

It had been a totally normal day for Karen. She and her partner had spent the day together, and after lunch he had gone out in the car, leaving with the words ‘See you later.’

However at 3.30pm there was a knock on the door. Karen opened it to find two police officers, who had come to tell her that there had been a road traffic collision and her partner had tragically died.

It was impossible for Karen to take in the news. She felt only shock and disbelief. It was some time before it felt real to her. In those next few hours, formal identification had to be carried out; the wider family needed to be told of her partner’s death and funeral arrangements had to be made.

Alongside this, the police investigation took over. Karen was regularly updated by her police Family Liaison Officer regarding the progress of the investigation, but she continued to feel quite isolated from the process.

How Voice helped 

In the first few days following the accident, one of Voice’s specialist counsellors contacted Karen and then visited her at home. She sat with her during her grieving and listened to her.  Karen found that she was able to be herself and to say things she was unable to say to anyone else.

As the police investigation continued, the Voice counsellor stayed in contact with Karen, who was also able to contact the counsellor when she needed to. This individual support continued in line with Karen’s own needs, including throughout and after the coronial inquest.

Gradually Karen felt she was able to move on and cope by herself, with support from her family. However the door to the Voice service will always remain open.