Life After launches in Fermanagh and Omagh
9th July 2021
Families bereaved through road traffic collisions will benefit from the support of Life After, a unique organisation recently launched in Fermanagh and Omagh District Council area. Originally established in 2017 in the Derry City and Strabane District Council area, Life After provides ongoing support to families who had been bereaved as a consequence of road traffic collisions. The group also operates in the Causeway Coast and Glens Council area.
Life After works with bereaved families on an individual basis providing a bespoke range of support including home visits, counselling, court support, monthly family support meetings and advocacy support.
Speaking about the group and the service that it provides PSNI Sergeant Anne Lavery said ‘In my capacity as a PSNI Family Liaison Co-ordinator, I am ever conscious of the demands placed on our Family Liaison Officers in dealing with families in what must be the darkest days of their lives. Despite their best efforts and specialised training, Family Liaison Officers don’t always have all the answers, the psychological expertise nor the personal experiences to deliver the most comprehensive service to our families. I see Life After as filling that essential void in service delivery, influenced by their own personal experiences and through their unfailing dedication to supporting bereaved families, just like themselves’.
Speaking on behalf of Life After Debbie Mullan, Vice Chairperson said ‘I would like to take this opportunity to say how delighted we are to have formed this amazing partnership with the PCSP and the PSNI in the Fermanagh and Omagh area, we know many within this area will benefit greatly from the support services we offer for those impacted by the traumatic death of someone in a Road Traffic Collision, and we are also eager to promote road safety awareness and responsibility to minimize the loss of lives on our roads. Unfortunately we within Life After have first hand experience and knowledge of the aftermath of someone’s actions on our roads that lead to a fatality and we are determined to work closely with the PCSP and the PSNI across Northern Ireland in the hope of reducing the immeasurable devastation that a fatal road traffic collision brings’.
Cllr Keith Elliott, Chair of Fermanagh and Omagh PCSP, said “representatives from Life After spoke at a PCSP meeting some months ago giving us an insight into the specialised, sensitive role that the organisation has in supporting bereaved families. One thing that I will always remember is a comment from a Life After member who said ‘in Life After that we are all members of the same club – a club that nobody wants to join and can never leave’. With road safety as the top priority for the PCSP we are delighted to welcome the group into the district and provide support to Life After”.
For further information on the work of the group or to avail of its services, please contact Life After by email at life.after@outlook.com or by telephoning Christopher Sherrard on 07871 508347 or Debbie Mullan 07920 475438