Helping a family bereavement

Errata

Well done, it can't be easy for you. Keep trying the NSPCC, I'm sure they'll take this very seriously. Your call will be kept confidential and no-one will know about it except you and them.
Please make sure they understand that she is dosing the children with alcohol and sleeping tablets to the point of them losing consciousness. Best wishes.

scoobysue_4

cindiedunkley wrote: »

I will try to make this as short as possible.
My cousin who is 39yo lost her husband in December. She is partially sighted and has 4 children ranging from 6yo to 14yo. She is not coping with the children and has been either hiding it or not confronting it. In a nutshell she is giving the 14yo boy alcohol to keep him subdued and even to the point where he was passed out drunk. She is giving her 9yo sleeping tablets when he gets too much to handle. The children are running riot and all she seems to be doing is housework or sleeping. She is taking a sleeping tablet when the kids come home from school and they are running around unsupervised. There is other stuff going on too but some of it is too personal to mention.
Who can I get in contact with to help her out, I will support her all the way but she and her children need professional help that I can't off. She has always been suspicious of the Social Services, most likely due to the horror stories you hear. And also I was in care during my teenage years and she knows all about the nasty stuff that went on. I am going to see her on Wednesday night to raise some of the issues I have described above. I have spoken to her mum and her best friend and they have the same concerns as me but they dare not approach her about it because she is the sort of person that tends to scream and shout when she hears something she does'nt like. I am going to talk to her as calmly and as reasurringly as possible but their are no guarantees that she will listen and then what do I do or where do I go.

the childrens welfare is paramount here, for both their mother and themselves to get the help they so desperately need to cope with losing their father/husband then proffessionals must be called upon asap before something else so terrible happens to one of them, call the nspc helpline or social services as suggested. please do it now.