Young widows and widowers from the North East find a way forward in grief.
ON Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th May 2025, young widows and widowers from the North East and
their families and friends will be rolling out their picnic blankets together and sharing great food,
drinks and fun in Gateshead and Sedgefield to show there is support out there for people who’ve
been widowed at a young age.
Hundreds of widows and widowers will be meeting up across the country from 17-18 May for the
annual Big Picnic weekend organised by WAY Widowed and Young – a peer-to-peer support charity
that has helped more than 14,000 people since it was set up in Wales 28 years ago.
And in Weardale, there are members of this group. One young widow from our area will be taking
part.
Alison Charlton from the lower Dale, said, “Five years ago my family’s life changed forever when
my husband went out to work and never returned.
“He suffered a brain haemorrhage at work and passed away 11 days later. He was 43 years old and
I was 41 years old. Nothing prepares you for becoming a widowed parent overnight and it has been
the most challenging time of my life as I navigate parenting my two sons who were eight and ten
years old at the time.
“The impact of such a bereavement is so wide spread and grief has no timeline and impacts on
you ongoing.”
WAY’s annual Big Picnic weekend is a chance for people who have been widowed young to get
together with other bereaved families – and for members of the public to find out how the charity
works.
Last year, this national event attracted more than 400 WAY members, friends and family to roll
out their picnic blankets at 30 picturesque picnic locations from Cornwall to Cumbria and from
Belfast to Glasgow.
“It’s a chance for WAY members and their families to get together with other people in the local
area who understand what they’re going through,” says Alison who is a local volunteer. “It’s also a
chance to reach out to other people who’ve been widowed at a young age to show them there is
support out there through WAY”.
The charity WAY Widowed and Young supports anyone aged 50 or under who is overcoming the
loss of a partner – whether they were married or not, with or without children, inclusive of sexual
orientation, gender, race and religion. It’s a peer-to-peer support network run by volunteers who
have been bereaved at a young age themselves, so they understand exactly what other members
are going through.
The charity was founded in 1997 by journalist Caroline Sarll, who was shocked to find that there
was no support available for her sister when she was widowed at the age of 35. Since then, the
charity has gone from strength to strength and now has more than 4,500 members across England,
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
People can find out more about the locations of the events from the following and by completing
the online enquiry form.
Website: www.widowedandyoung.org.uk/bigpicnic
Facebook: @widowedandyoung
Twitter: @WidowedAndYoung
Instagram: @widowedandyoung #WAYBigPicnic
