Publish date: 22 July 2020
The Inquiry will restart on Monday 6 July with limited attendance. Proceedings will be live-streamed for those who wish to follow them remotely. During Phase One of the Inquiry, the NHS Grenfell Health and Wellbeing Service offered people support in partnership with Hestia. This support will continue throughout Phase Two.
Following the Inquiry can bring up a mixture of emotions. You may be reminded of loss, feel sadness or anger, notice a resurgence of trauma symptoms, such as having more memories of what happened or feeling more anxious and on edge. Or you may feel numb or not sure how you feel.
Everyone is different and not everyone will feel the same way, which is both ok and natural.
We understand that attending the Inquiry has been important for people and that the need to follow proceedings on the live stream, rather than in person, may exacerbate your feelings about the content of the hearings.
Some top tips
- Plan how and when you choose to watch the video stream. Take breaks as you need to and consider the timing of when you watch. For example, some may find catching up with proceedings at night may interfere with their sleep.
- Make a schedule. Keeping a routine can be a really useful way to stay active, and have control over your day. Make time for varied activities in your day, including time for activities that are enjoyable and calming, as well as productive. Think about writing up a timetable to put on the wall, and write out what activities you will do throughout the day.
- Taking care of your physical health will help your emotional wellbeing. Make sure you and your family have healthy meals, and avoid comfort eating; exercise when you can, even a short walk can help, and have a good sleep routine.
- Limit your exposure to news and social media. If you notice that you are becoming more upset by news about Grenfell and the Inquiry, consider whether it would be helpful to protect your emotional space and limit the time spent reviewing discussion about these topics. Maybe allocate a slot in your day to check the news/watch the proceedings and not check again until the allocated time the next day.
- If you have children in the house, remember to limit their exposure to talk and conversations that may not be age appropriate and that may be upsetting for them.
- Reach out to the people who know and care for you. Staying connected and being kind to yourself is important.
If you need support, or advice, or you feel worried about yourself or someone you know, please contact us through the methods below. This is a free and confidential service for the community.
- Calling us direct on 0208 637 6279 (Monday to Thursday, 8am to 8pm and Friday, 8am – 5pm) or 0208 962 4393 (Fridays 5pm-8pm, and weekends, 9am to 8pm)
- Referring yourself through our website.
- Contacting your NHS therapist (if you are seeing or have seen someone)
- Email grenfell.wellbeingservice@nhs.net
Out of hours support
If you need to speak to someone out of hours, please call the CNWL Single Point of Access and Grenfell Support line: 0800 0234 650.