Kathy Ford, WAY Ambassador
“I joined WAY in December 2018, two weeks after losing my partner of 19 years, Keith, to a sudden heart attack. On finding WAY, I realised that my position was sadly not that unique – I found a whole network of people who understood what me and my two teenage boys were going through and who offered us a listening ear, support and advice but most important friendship.
I soon embraced my life as a WAY member – attending coffee mornings and nights out. In June 2019, I attended parliament to give evidence as a witness for the Work and Pensions Select Committee review into reforms of the Bereavement Support Payment system. Not long after that, I became an Area Assist, welcoming new members to our WAY family.
WAY has become a very important part of my life and I want to promote this amazing charity so others like myself, who thought they would not be eligible to join because we were cohabiting rather than married, are indeed welcomed and not discriminated against – recognising that our pain is the same, regardless of a piece of paper.”