THE mother of Sian O’Callaghan hopes to use her experience of losing her daughter to help support other grieving families who have also seen their loved ones murdered.

Elaine Pickford, who lives in Old Town, wants to spread awareness of the national peer support programme which is a partnership between Child Bereavement UK and Victim Support National Homicide Service.

The aim of the service is to share experiences, provide confidential listening and support for people bereaved by murder and to help them manage the impact of the huge loss in their life.

Sian, 22, disappeared after a night out with friends at the Suju nightclub in March 2011. Taxi driver Christopher Halliwell later admitted murdering her.

More than six years since the fateful night Sian is very much at the heart of her family and Elaine hopes her volunteering work will create a long-lasting legacy for her daughter.

“My volunteer role came about following a conversation with my victim support case worker last year about helping others and wanting to be able to give back in some way,” she said.

“My case worker told me about peer support for homicide in partnership with CBUK. After contacting the peer support organiser, having interviews and feeling this is something extremely worthwhile and I could possibly offer something to, and I was put on a training programme.”

The service works together with a diverse group of volunteers, who have all been bereaved by murder, and they then go on to support family members referred to the service via the National Victim Support Homicide Service.

“At the time and the following years since the loss of Sian, I personally would have found it helpful to talk to someone who gets it, understands and can empathise,” said Elaine.

“To be part of a dedicated team of people who have suffered and continue to live with the devastating loss of loved ones and now want to give up some of their time to help others is both inspiring and rewarding.”

Since the peer support for homicide started many years ago, the number of expected referrals from Victim Support has been greatly exceeded, confirming the demand, need and benefit of this worthwhile service.

Elaine started to go through the necessary training to become a volunteer in May this year – a decision she has not looked back on.

“It is difficult to articulate that training experience,” she said.

“As quoted at the beginning by the leader of that training; ‘this is like a club, but one you don’t want to be members of.’

“For me, to meet, for the first time, other family members bereaved by homicide was so many things; tough, emotional, intense and mentally draining to share experiences with other people who ‘get it’.

“Being completely open and very honest was powerful, moving and positive.

"To realise, despite our differing experiences, family circumstances and backgrounds, there were so many similarities in our thoughts and feelings that we all totally understood following such a traumatic loss of a loved one, a profound connection between people coming together for a couple of days.

“After directly benefitting from peer support by way of those training days, I was offered and accepted to volunteer, supporting at group sessions held in London and referred telephone support."

To keep Sian’s positive, kind and loving memory alive, Elaine has also set up a page for people wanting to pay respects to her daughter but also for people to donate to charities that have helped her over the years including CBUK, VS, Wilsar (Wiltshire Search & Rescue), Missing People UK, Wiltshire Law Centre.

The page is available at: sian.ocallaghan.muchloved.com

For people wanting to find out more about the peer support programme, visit www.childbereavementuk.org or www.victimsupportuk.org