A day in the life of Paul Finnegan from Cruse

He has worked in a variety of positions including 20 years in IT before moving to the voluntary and statutory sectors with roles in childcare, youth sector, disability and training and employment.

I can spend half my week at the office and half my time on the road so there never is really a normal day for me – that’s part of the enjoyment of the role.

Bereavement is a major life transition for everyone. For older people bereavement often has a special poignancy, it can occur when they feel least able to deal with the life changing effects that a death can bring. Memories of losses over a lifetime may occur when other support systems have weakened or disappeared. Often older people, and in my experience many men, do not feel comfortable seeking support when they are bereaved. In a lot of cases, people can become ill or even incur mental health problems where they can feel isolated and unsupported. That’s where my project comes in.

My role involves raising awareness of the support that is available, creating access for older people to that support and identifying new ways of supporting older people who have lost a loved one.

We have over 400 Cruse Bereavement Support Volunteers across Northern Ireland providing the traditional one to one support for bereaved people. Indeed, I recently undertook the training and have become a volunteer myself. However for older people there is a need to develop additional ways to support their individual needs. These can include timely and relevant information, a 24 hour helpline or email support. Another new concept is the introduction of Friendship Groups and we have three set up to date. We have been running in Lisburn for over a year now. This kind of peer and self-support is something I really hope to expand throughout Northern Ireland.

Undoubtedly the best part of the role is seeing the impact that the project has on the people that it is set up to serve. I can honestly say that working with people such as children and young people, parents and carers, people with disabilities and now older people has taught me more about myself and my capabilities than at any other time in my life.

If you would like to hear more about Cruse or Beyond Words, call 90 792419