Alison Penny, Director, Childhood Bereavement Network. Coordinator, National Bereavement Alliance.The bereavement sector’s responses to the challenges of the pandemic – What further support is needed by families and by services

Alison is Director of the Childhood Bereavement Network, the hub for those working with bereaved children and young people across the UK. She is also Project Coordinator of the National Bereavement Alliance, a strategic collaboration of organizations and individuals working with bereaved people in England. She keeps the sector updated with relevant developments, and helps the field to develop consensus on key policy and practice topics, contributing to gains in national policy in bereaved people’s interests. Alison has a particular interest in supporting bereavement services to demonstrate the effectiveness of their work and is taking this forward as a PhD. She is an editor of the peer-review journal Bereavement Care and a member of the International Work Group on Death, Dying and Bereavement.