HUGG was founded in 2017 by Fiona Tuomey, following the devastating death by suicide of her 11-year-old daughter Milly. Experiencing a deep need to speak to people who truly understood what she was going through, Fiona searched for a support group for people impacted by suicide led by those who had a lived experience of suicide – but none existed.
Driven by a desire to fill this gap and ensure that no one bereaved by suicide would have to go without support, Fiona set up HUGG’s first support group in 2017. The demand for more groups quickly became clear, and HUGG was established as a registered charity in 2018, on Milly’s birthday.
All of HUGG’s volunteers and staff have a lived experience of suicide and can provide unique support and insights into the often difficult and complex emotions and life challenges that follow a death by suicide.
“You don’t have to put everything into the perfect words to make somebody understand because they already understand. So that is the best part, they do understand.“
Charlie, NSRF study participant
The impact of suicide is devastating. Everyone deserves accurate, timely information and signposting to appropriate supports to help navigate this unique grief.
Fiona Tuomey,
CEO and Founder of HUGG
Core Values
Empathy through lived experience
Every peer support group is led by people who have been bereaved by suicide.
Respect for all
We are non-judgemental and respectful of all our volunteers, partners and support group members. We provide a warm and welcoming atmosphere for all and we ensure everyone has equal access to peer support groups. Our strategy has been specifically developed to promote inclusion throughout the organisation.
Courage
We continually raise awareness of the challenges faced by those bereaved by suicide and we advocate for change in how state institutions engage and support those bereaved by suicide.
Collaboration
We build close working relationships with professionals and other relevant organisations to ensure better services for the suicide bereaved. We gather feedback on our services from our volunteers, group members and facilitators to inform programme improvements and decisions making.
Transparency
We clearly communicate our service model and approach to all stakeholders. We publish our organisational strategy, policies and annual reports as well as the results of evaluations and research activities.
Quality-driven
As a registered charity we continuously aim to achieve the best governance standards and ensure high quality services and support by:
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Adhering to all statutory and sector regulations
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Developing and implementing internal quality standards which drive consistency throughout the organisation
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Implementing evidence based and evidence informed training, policies,
and practices -
Offering regular clinical supervision to all of our facilitators
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Implementing a continuous evaluation and feedback process that engages support group members
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Maintaining strong boundaries as a level two organisation by sign-posting to other organisations and supports if/as needed and never providing advice or direction in groups
