Loss is a universal experience that will affect us all at some point in our lives. Our vision is to create a loss positive culture, that enables us all to accept grief and loss as a part of life and to support each other better. The Loss Project is creating a framework to help individuals, communities and organisations to acknowledge loss in a healthier way in whatever context. We work with and acknowledge all losses including living losses, such as jobs, relationships, connections etc as well as the loss of loved ones. We are interested to understand the interaction between losses, and how we can create a culture that acknowledges, embraces and even celebrates this complex human experience.The Loss Project aims to generate a community response to loss by connecting people in local communities through their experiences of grief, loss and trauma, in whatever form they come in. Our mission is to challenge the stigma and taboo around loss, cutting through the barriers of difficult conversations and subjects that can often remain unspoken. We put people with lived experience first, whilst building capacity, awareness, confidence for us to support ourselves and each other. Through training, workshops, and bespoke creative community programmes, we aim to support communities to become more open and connected. During our first year in operation, we have delivered the following:- A range of training and workshops to third and public sector organisations including general awareness raising, and creative workshops including with Big Local Trust, The National Education Union, the Wick Award, Florence Nightingale Foundation, Applied Arts Scotland, Outward, and Stratford East Freelancers network.- We have worked with more than 200 participants across a range of events and workshops including;- Monthly support sessions open to anyone who wants to explore grief and loss in partnership with Camerados, a social movement supporting people in tough times.- Creative writing workshops, encouraging 12 people to express their grief through writing poetry and spoken word.- A Co-design sprint- working with 13 participants to create new on and offline resources for people who are bereaved, supported by Cruse the National Bereavement Charity- A community programme, called Constellations, working with 14 people across the UK through a learning programme to encourage local communities to support each other with grief and loss.- The development of downloadable resources, free to access, such as the Grief Compass, made by volunteers with lived experience. The Grief Compass is a personal reflection tool.- A collaborative partnership with WIGS (now Canopy), Rooted by Design and The Loss Project, a 9 month project that used film as a creative mechanism to explore grief and loss in the backdrop of the pandemic.Participants tell us:Codesign participant “It has been good to connect, to know others are working to a common aim and that we all have different skills and expertise that appear to complement each other. The workshops have allowed individuals to mix, listen and speak. I feel we are a team which allows ideas to flow without judgement which turn encourages further ideas. We are looking to ourselves to know what helped support our grief and what did not, whilst acknowledging the many different faces of grief. We work from people not services. Thinking creatively about how grief is supported outside of services, from our own strengths and community.”Monthly group: Cat Duncan-Rees, who lost her father in early March, has found solace in both the general and the loss-themed Spoon Rooms. “It was helpful to join a group of people knowing that I didn’t have to pretend. I could just be...There is no pressure to talk about anything in particular. There was one loss-themed session where I don’t think I even talked about my Dad.” https://www.pioneerspost.com/business-school/20200721/grieving-home-the-online-community-of-mourners-who-listen-hear-not-fixCreative writing: "I feel not so alone now about how I feel, and that other people feel the same as I do. It's been great, thank you."

We have varied groups of stakeholders including people with lived experience of grief and loss. Our core work focuses on people losses and this is one of our biggest stakeholder groups. We have a collaborative spirit and as such consider everyone who participates in The Loss Project as a valued stakeholder including our partners and external facilitators. We co-design our workshops with participants and flex our work to adapt to different contexts and losses. Our digital resources are codesigned and delivered where possible with people with lived experience. We have also conducted a number of surveys and focus groups about our work and it’s development with a range of people with lived experience and professionals to inform the design and development of projects and strategic work.We have a vision to develop a collective of facilitators; academics; designers; artists; technologists; and experts by experience; who collaborate to push the boundaries and challenge the status quo of how we deal with and support people with issues relating to grief and loss. We bring a fresh and creative edge to organisations, communities and others, who are interested to create a ‘loss positive’ culture in society, which is nourishing, accepts loss as a universal experience and a normal part of life cycles, and explores the transformational potential that grief and loss can catalyse for individuals and wider society.

There were no other transactions or arrangements in connection with the remuneration of directors, or compensation for director’s loss of office, which require to be disclosed.

No transfer of assets other than for full consideration