Halo Children’s Foundation
1237. Alia Jones
Alia Jones, from Hillingdon, created ‘Halo Children’s Foundation’ to support bereaved children after losing her husband Lewis when their children were 2 years and 3 weeks old.
Finding there was no specific support network for families in her situation, Alia set up ‘Halo Children’s Foundation’ to help children cope with the loss of a family member. The foundation supports bereaved children through expressive arts, memory boxes and special experiences, which are aimed at allowing them to create new memories as well as preserving existing memories of their loved ones.
In a personal letter to Alia, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:
“I know you do this with no thought of praise or reward, but allow me to offer my own recognition of how you ease the pain of bereavement for so many families.
“Since the tragic passing of your husband, Lewis, you have shown the most extraordinary courage in creating ‘Halo Children’s Foundation’ and supporting families, like yours, through their losses.”
Alia said:
“It is a true honour to receive the Points of Light award and recognition of our work at ‘Halo Children’s Foundation’ in this way.
“I am very proud to be the founder of HALO to share support to children and their families on bereavement who are going through loss and grief when a loved one sadly dies. Many of the children we support have lost a parent, but this can be a sibling, grandparent or any loved one, so as you can only imagine it can be a very confusing and sad time. In creating HALO it gave me a purpose sharing the information I found for my children with others, and now we as a charity help support many families hold on to memories of their loved one and create new memories along the way, whilst finding hope in rebuilding their lives after such loss and isolation.
“It is an honour to bring people together to help the community in this way, and to know that everyone adores the charity and the work we do only encourages me more to making a difference in this way. I am committed and excited for the future of HALO and in creating an everlasting Foundation so families do not grieve alone.”