Claire Taylor – Service Co-Ordinator

I'm Claire and I have been lucky enough to work at Star since 2011. It's the biggest privilege to work together with children and young people when they need our support. I have always felt that the needs of children and young people experiencing bereavement and loss are too often over looked. We are here to change that in the Wakefield District. I have a BSc hons in Psychology and a certificate in management and leadership. I have completed lots of different training including attachment narrative therapy, understanding children and young people's mental health, research methods and many more which all helps me to ensure my practice is the best it can be to support positive outcomes for children and young people. At the moment I am training to be a Neuro Linguistic Processing (NLP) Practitioner and a children and young people's yoga teacher!

The children and young people at Star inspire me every day. At home I'm mum to my daughter and 4 fur babies, 2 dogs and 2 cats. I like walks, having fun, nature, the sea and chocolate biscuits amongst many other things as there are so many great things in the world 🙂 I don't like being cold, big moths or green beans.

Helen Elford - Bereavement Practitioner

I am Helen and I have been a Bereavement Practitioner with Star since 2017, where I help support children, young people and families when somebody special has died.  Grief is a complicated, messy process and my aim is to gently guide families through this painful journey whilst providing them with the skills necessary to better manage their feelings, which in turn will enable young people to move forward in a healthy way and empower them to achieve their goals.   

I have a background in Psychology and Counselling and I have also been a Samaritan’s Listener for many years, working in suicide prevention.  More importantly I have a deep empathic understanding of personal bereavement and its impact on families as my husband died suddenly in 2015, leaving me a widow with young children.  I feel that this has equipped me with an invaluable insight into the work of Star and what can be achieved when children and young people are given the time, space and support needed to journey through their grief. 

Star Bereavement is a remarkable and inspiring organisation to be a part of and I love being a part of such a great team.  There is such a shortage of bereavement organisations specifically aimed at children and young people within the Wakefield area, which means that Star’s work is vitally important.  Furthermore, our Star families make this such a rewarding role as you can witness the life changing, positive impact our work has on young people across the district. 

Rachael Wright - Bereavement Practitioner

I’m Rachael and I have volunteered for Star for 5 years, supporting bereaved children and young people. I am very excited to say that I am joining the team in a full-time role from December 2020 as a Bereavement Practitioner! It is my passion to help children and young people find a way to navigate through the difficult healing process of grief. My aim is to give hope to the young people I work with and to encourage them to fulfil their potential. I am currently close to completing my counselling diploma becoming a qualified counsellor and I use my skills in enabling the young people I work with in achieving a happy and fulfilled life, where they feel empowered, listened to and valued. 

Children and young people often have the answers to how they are feeling, my role is to enable them to express themselves and to help them understand and cope with a disorganised and unsettling time in their lives. I believe no one should be at a disadvantage due to suffering from the unpredictability of events that trigger grief. I love working for Star, it is filled with wonderful, experienced and caring people, who work hard in providing a service to support young people across the Wakefield district.