It is with great sadness that we have to announce that Marion Turner, Founder of GranPart has sadly passed away. She was the main driving force behind this very important group and will be sadly missed, not only by her family and friends but also all the alienated grandparent's she has helped over recent years.
GranPart will be working in partnership with The Bristol Grandparents Support Group. This is an established group run by Jane Jackson who has many years' experience in helping alienated grandparents.
If you need help or advice, please contact Jane on 07773 258270 or click on this link to go to the website: https://bristolgrandparentssupportgroup.co.uk/
Marion Turner
Founder of GranPart
Support group for grandparents who do not see their grandchildren, for whatever reason
There are many grandparents who, due to circumstances very often beyond their control, never get to see their grandchildren.
The reasons can vary considerably. It can be due simply to a falling out amongst family members, sometimes the parents of the children have divorced or have simply moved a long distance away.
In other more serious situations parents of the children involved may suffer drink or drug related problems, the children may be removed for safety reasons, in some cases fostered, meaning grandparents have no legal access to their grandchildren.
The support group was first formed following a difficult situation I found myself in when it was made difficult for me to see my grandson.
Things came to a head soon after his first birthday and I had no contact for nearly three years.
When I started sharing my situation with other people it soon became clear that I wasn't alone, and that many other grandparents were suffering similarly, and like me they found it difficult to share what they were going through with other people who were not suffering.
GranPart is designed simply to give grandparents who are going through this difficult time an opportunity to meet others in a similar situation. In an informal environment we chat and share experiences and can be empathetic and supportive to each other.
Milton Keynes Mayor Cllr Sam Crooks came along to our MK meeting in October.
The Mayor listened intently whilst members told their heart-breaking stories, and at the end said he felt humbled from what he had heard.
He offered his support and will help in creating awareness about GranPart and how it helps so many people.
Grosvenor Shopping Centre
In an effort to promote the group and encourage new members GranPart set up a table in the Grosvenor shopping centre Northampton.
It was good to see people who had seen the advert for the event coming along to find out more.
On Friday August 17th South Northamptonshire Council Chairman Richard Dallyn came along to our meeting at Manning Watts House.
After listening to the group, we explained our plans on promoting GranPart in order to gain greater awareness. Richard was able to offer advice based on his previous experience working in the media.
Northampton MP offers support
We were delighted to welcome Andrew Lewer, Member of Parliament for Northampton South, to a recent meeting at Manning Watts House.
Andrew has picked up the baton from his predecessor and has shown his support when speaking at the recent Westminster debate. He mentioned the good work GranPart are doing to support grandparents and help fight for grandparent and grandchildren's rights.
Over the past few months GranPart have been involved with the Waitrose Community Matters Green Coin Scheme.
Coins collected earned us £245 from the Towcester store and a fantastic £427 from Oakgrove store in Milton Keynes.
Grandchildren alienated from their grandparents is a global epidemic and is considered by leading international experts in the field to be a severe form of child and elder abuse. The dynamics of families being torn apart, often as a result of acrimonious family breakdown or other toxic family events, results in heartbreaking tragedy in the lives of grandchildren and grandparents who lose an important, loving and valuable relationship together. It is estimated that in the UK more than a million grandchildren are denied contact with their grandparents.
An Action Day focusing on ‘Broken Bonds, the Plight of Grandchildren Estranged from their Grandparents’ was held at The Palace of Westminster on September 4th 2019 to call for greater recognition of this life-impacting issue and to ensure legislation ensures the right of a relationship for grandchildren with their grandparents, regardless of the children’s parental situation.
Dame Esther Rantzen, Nigel Huddleston MP, Dr Matthew Offord MP, together with experts in family law and researchers in the field of family psychology spoke about the long-term detrimental effects of such estrangements and the potentially serious long-term consequences on both affected grandchildren and grandparents.
Beth & Roger accompanied Marion to the event
The panel included Solicitor Vanessa LLoyd Platt,
Dame Esther Rantzen & Nigel Huddleston MP
Watch the story of how Mental Illness can cause
grandparents to become estranged
Losing contact with a grandchild
can be heartbreaking
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