Who are we?
Bristol Grandparents Support Group (BGSG) is a registered charity, set up to support grandparents who are facing the heartbreak of being estranged from their grandchildren as a result of family breakdown.
We have five trustees and we are honoured to have Dame Esther Rantzen as our Patron.
BGSG was founded in 2007 by Jane Jackson after she lost contact with her granddaughter. “I wanted to reach out to other grandparents who were going through the same thing as I was, I thought it was just me. I discovered that it is estimated that over one million children are denied contact with their grandparents, so clearly I was not alone.
At my first meeting 7 grandparents arrived on my doorstep, since then we have to date been contact by over 6,000 grandparents. The support offered by members of BGSG to others is wonderful, no judgements made and an empathetic ear.
“I wanted to reach out to other grandparents who were going through the same thing as I was, I thought it was just me”
What do we do?
In Bristol we have regular meetings for grandparents and we run a helpline.
Grandparents can receive support on the phone, email or via Skype. We also have a “I Will Survive” plan to help them.
We have a list of groups across the UK and there is no membership fee.
When should people get in touch?
When grandparents find themselves in this situation they feel isolated and alone. Some will contact us as soon as contact is stopped others will wait for some time before making that call.
How best to get in touch.
Grandparents can find information on our website.
Our helpline can be contacted T: 07773258270 during office hours, there is an answer phone and we aim to get back to grandparents within 24 hours, we also have Facebook page
Posted on March 22, 2018
