Wednesday evening, the charity mobile phone rang.
Answering it, expecting to talk with a family in need of support, I was surprised to find out that it was an independent reporter. She wanted to arrange a time to meet up to film an item for Calendar News.

We always look for ways to get the charity's work out on as many media sites as possible so my initial thought, before even knowing what she wanted us to talk about, was to say yes.

She then went on to explain that she had been at the Leeds Council meeting where the budget for the next financial year is agreed and announcements are made of any changes.

Counsellor Judith Blake had announced during the meeting that as from March 2018 any family that lose a baby or child (up to the age of 16) will no longer have to pay for the cremation or burial. After the initial positive thoughts running through my mind I was suddenly thinking that there was not enough information for us to make an informed response. I spoke with another member of the charity and we both agreed that more information was needed.

We contacted the local counsellor to get some clarification of what this actually meant and how it would benefit bereaved families.

Any changes made that can make things more accessible and easier for families to comprehend has to be good but with local elections looming you always feel a little dubious as to whether or not these were plans that would definitely happen or just put out there to gain votes.

I know that may sound cynical but after 5 years of attending

meetings and corresponding with local authorities we have learnt not to always take things at face level.

When we received a reply we felt happier that it is an issue that is being taken seriously and that it will be happening. I was then much happier to be involved in a television interview about our response to the announcement.

I met up with the reporter at the charity office the next day. She was really good at making you feel at ease and said that it would be pre recorded so that it could be edited if I made mistakes or got stuck for words.

She initially wanted to learn more about the charity and why we had set it up.

I am always happy to talk about our Charlie and share his bravery and determination. It makes me feel so proud to talk about him and explain that he has left a legacy that will continue to get better bereavement support for families across the country.

He may have only been here for 19 minutes but in those minutes he has provided us with the motivation and drive to keep campaigning.

If Charlie had survived he would have been a special little boy, loved by all his family, and in an ideal world that is what would have happened. But unfortunately no matter how hard Charlie could fight it was not enough to allow him to stay with us. Now, through the charity, Charlie is known by thousands of people across the world and he has made a direct impact on so many families. Charlie truly is a very very special little boy.

The reporter seemed genuinely interested in finding out more about us and wanted me to explain our board in the office with pictures of people and events we have hosted. It felt as if she had been effected by our charity and our aims for the future. She also mentioned that if she was able to help us with any publicity in the future she would. This was brilliant to hear and I am pretty sure we will be contacting her at some point, she may even regret saying it lol.

She asked about how we felt about the news of cremation and burial costs being removed for families of children up to 16 years of age.

When a family is trying to understand and cope with losing their baby the last thing they need to be dealing with is the financial cost of laying them to rest.

As we know from our experiences your brain is not able to process much of what is being said to you let alone be able to find out any information needed.

We also know that most families cannot just lay their hands on the amount of money needed to bury their child which can then add extra stress and upset because they feel like they are letting them down.

It can often cost up to £600 to bury a child and we have known families that have had to set up crowd funding pages to enable them to be able to afford it.

This is so wrong.

A family doesn't need the extra pressure and anxiety.

When you have a child you are making memories throughout your lives together but when your child dies you do not have the chance to do this anymore and having somewhere to go to feel near to them is so important. Having a child buried gives the family a place to go together and to make memories there. Many families find it helps having somewhere to go and place cards and toys or to talk to their child. 

When the councils new plan comes into effect we think it could have a big impact on families at one of the most difficult times of their lives. Taking some of the burden away from the families will allow them to focus on their grief and be able to be together as a family. At the minute this service will only be available to families that live in Leeds but we hope that if other councils see that it can benefit many families that they may decide to change their current regulations.

The interview should be aired on Calendar News tomorrow, we hope that many of you can get to see it and find out more about the changes that happening in Leeds.