CHILDREN who have lost a family member can now find support close to home.

Childhood bereavement charity Winston’s Wish has opened a centre in Ventnor Villas, Hove.

Brighton and Hove Mayor Dee Simpson was at the launch.

Councillor Simson said: “This is so important for the city and I am unaware of any other services like it.

“I am a governor at a school in the city and I know we have had children who have lost a parent and we have struggled to know where to point them for the kind of help, but now we have this facility we must get the word out.”

Winston’s Wish will offer one-to-one support services for bereaved families and also training for adults and professionals to teach them how to help children through loss.

It also offers a new drop-in service.

Fergus Crow, chief executive at Winston’s Wish, said: “We have moved here because we know it is a vibrant, diverse area that really values its young people.

“One of our aims is to become more visible and accessible and being based in Brighton and Hove will allow us to that.”

The branch will provide support to East and West Sussex, as well as Brighton and Hove.

The charity stressed the importance of a personal approach when dealing with bereavement. Sacha Richardson, director of family services at Winston’s Wish, said: “Each family and each child is different and we always work with them to find out what their needs are and how to supply them.

“We can’t make families get over their loss, but we can help them to adjust and find a way to move on so it doesn’t affect their chances in life.”

Winston’s Wish provides face-to-face sessions with its family service practitioners and opportunities to spend time with other parents and children who have gone through similar experiences.

It runs its drop-in service at the offices on the first Saturday of every month.

It also offers information and resources for parents, carers and professionals on its website, winstonswish.org.

It can also be contacted on it national helpline at 08088 020 021.

Winston’s Wish was set up in 1992 to meet the needs of bereaved children, young people and their families.

Clinical psychologist Julie Stokes visited the US and Canada on a Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship and, inspired by the services she saw there, returned to the UK and started what has grown into a nationwide charity.