In May 2017, 8 year old Alfie’s life was changed irreversibly when he lost his dad to suicide.
The beginnings
Six months later, motivated by his own experience, Alfie wrote a letter to Everton Football Club to ask for their help in raising funds for those less fortunate than himself. Everton’s immediate response and subsequent important meetings laid the foundation for what would become Alfie’s Squad. While initial sessions were held at Everton in the Community, the group soon outgrew the space and the decision was made to set up on our own to allow our support to reach even more children and young people.
The core mission of Alfie’s Squad is to provide peer support to children and young people who have been bereaved by suicide. Remarkably, such dedicated support for children is not available anywhere in the UK. Alfie’s Squad provides a safe space in which young members and their families have the chance to build confidence and friendships, while reduce isolation with others who share similar experiences.
Present and future
Alfie’s vision has blossomed into a groundbreaking initiative that aims to support these children by helping to reduce isolation and improve their feelings of self-worth. Approximately 9,000 children are bereaved by parental suicide every year in the UK and they have no access to peer support. If you add to the equation children who lose a different family member or even a friend and that number can easily be trebled.
We are not just creating a group for practical support, we are building a community that children, like Alfie, can call their own. In addition to the children’s support group, we also offer support to the adults, with a young adults group (age 18-25) as well as a group for the parents or carers.
All of our groups are held at the same time and at the same venue to make it accessible for all the family.
Raise Awareness: Raising awareness of Alfie’s Squad and helping us to make connections with local communities is vital for us to be able to support as many young people as possible. We want to build a community and we need your help to do it.
Support our journey: Many workplaces have a nominated charity of the year and putting Alfie’s Squad forward for consideration is a great way to help. We can help with supporting material for any pitch you have to make.
Fundraise with us: We have lots of different fundraising events throughout the year, and they don’t all involve fire walking or throwing yourself out of a plane! We have something or everyone from quiz nights to golf days.
