About Us

Who are we?

The ‘You Raise Me Up charity’ was founded by the late Jane Brooks and her husband Fraser in June 2011. The charity’s sole purpose is to raise funds to support families that have suffered the loss of a young person aged 16-25 years.

We are based in East Sussex and support families from East & West Sussex and Kent.

Why?

On 3rd May 2011 Fraser and Jane’s beautiful daughter Megan Brooks collapsed and died suddenly. As parents of Megan they found themselves in desperate need of comfort from those that had experienced the same loss and to see how they had coped and got through such a terrible time.

Emotional and Mental Wellbeing Support

The aim of the charity is to be able to provide compassion, support and simply to be able to say “we totally understand” rather than “we cannot imagine what you are going through”. We have trained, experienced counsellors available including child and adolescent counsellors to help you through these dark times. We also run monthly support groups, where you can meet other families going through similar emotions and by coming together you will start to feel less alone. We also now run an advice and signposting service from our Support Centre.

In the last 12 years the charity has grown from being run by an amazing group of people in their conservatory to a dedicated team that runs a support centre and office. The roots that were planted in the beginning have grown and are very strong, with the heart of our beliefs that drive us forward, always staying the same.

The service and support we offer has grown. The mental health impact of the death of a child on surviving family members is huge. Our charity support them to survive that and stabilise their mental wellbeing enabling them to function again in everyday life and support their lives going forward. We have a multiple purpose of support, all aimed at holding families together. Grief is a lonely journey and making friends with others who have that shared experience and support each other is vital.