Rugby legend backs stadium's 'Grief Kind Space'

Former Leeds Rhinos star Jamie Peacock has urged people dealing with grief to talk about their feelings

Leeds Rhinos legend Jamie Peacock urged people dealing with grief to "open up" as he backed a new initiative aiming to help people who have suffered a bereavement.

The former rugby league star has offered his support to the scheme run by the Leeds Rhinos Foundation and the Sue Ryder charity in Leeds.

As part of a drive to give bereaved people the opportunity to talk about their loss, a new Grief Kind Space has been set up at Headingley Stadium.

Peacock, who was supported through the death of his dad by the Wheatfields Sue Ryder Hospice, said such a space was "huge" for anyone experiencing grief.

'Very turbulent time'

The Grief Kind Space, which is expected to run every Tuesday from 23 April, will offer informal, peer-to-peer bereavement support.

Peacock said such sessions would have been "useful" for him back when he was dealing with the loss of his father.

"It is challenging to see someone you care about slip away and move from living to surviving," he said.

"It was incredibly difficult for me in the public eye. I was having to perform very publicly and it requires a lot of commitment to be a good professional player."

It was a "very emotional, difficult, turbulent time", he said.

"For a lot of people who have grief to come somewhere that's safe and have someone neutral to sit and listen to them would be extremely beneficial."

The Grief Kind Space sessions will take place at the AMT Headingley Rugby Stadium

The drop-in sessions are for anyone over the age of 18 and will run between 14:30 BST and 16:30 BST at the Rhino Foundation’s Community Hub.

People will be able to attend for a full two hours or drop in for 10 minutes or even less.

Sue Ryder volunteers have been trained to help people share their experiences to feel heard and less alone.

The Grief Kind Space at Headingley Stadium is the third of its kind in West Yorkshire.

Tracy Brierley, Sue Ryder’s Grief Kind Space coordinator for the region, said the spaces had "such an incredible impact".

"It is amazing to be part of something where we are seeing people make connections and open up about their experiences of grief."

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