Cornwall cafe offers grief support to help bereaved

Tony O'Rourke and Liz Smith said they hoped to offer bereaved people hope for the future

A couple who both lost their partners are holding a pop-up cafe to help others who are grieving.

Tony O'Rourke, 54, lost his wife, Naomi, to cancer in 2014 and Liz Smith, 46, was widowed in 2019 after her husband, Luke, died of a brain tumour.

The pair are launching a monthly event at their cafe in Cornwall, with charity Good Grief Trust.

They said the aim was to "give something back" and provide "hope" for others in the community facing grief.

The couple met on an online dating site and opened their own coffee shop in Redruth in late 2021.

The Redruth cafe, The Wooden Box, will be open on a Monday evening once a month for the event

Ms Smith said she hoped it would offer some "relief" to people grieving to share a space with others going through a similar experience.

Of her own loss, she said: "You lose the person but you also lose the whole future you thought you'd have together".

"We've both had that experience and we want to give something back.

"We're still grieving as people are forever but we're at the point where we can offer help to other people," she said.

Mr O'Rourke said the free pop-up events - which are held nationally - were "safe places for anyone to come along who's grieving".

"The whole thing is hope for the future as well - we're getting married in April - hopefully that might help other people who are on the way," he said.

"People come along to these groups who've lost children, parents, siblings - it effects everyone in different ways," he added.

Up until now Cornwall has only had one pop-up cafe with the Good Grief Trust, Mr O'Rourke said.

The couple added their monthly free event on a Monday evening would expand that offering, making it more accessible to more bereaved people.