My name is Robert and my daughter Sophia died in 2012. As our world fell apart we were lucky enough to have an influx of love and support from friends, family and my employer. I had space and time to grieve and talk openly about my feelings, and only heard the odd isolated comment about how I needed to stay strong for my family.
As time progressed I became aware that amongst bereaved men I was lucky, and that many dads had felt the need to conform to certain stereotypes when their child died, or not received support from their workplace. I knew that when the time was right I wanted to give something back, so in 2015 I was overjoyed when I was able to become a befriender.
Being a befriender and supporting others when they need it helps some meaning to come from what happened to us, and I’m always honoured that people share their stories with me.
Fundraising in our daughter’s memory has also helped give us a purpose by supporting the charity and the work they do, and over the years I’ve held fundraising family fun days, participated in RideLondon and run a half marathon.
