We are delighted to introduce Catrin Beynon (she/her), who is joining Let’s Talk About Loss as the Charity Lead while our Founder Beth is on maternity leave. Catrin will be running Let’s Talk About Loss and brings a wealth of skills and experience to the role. Beth and Catrin asked each other a few questions as they hand over the baton…
Beth asked Catrin: What drew you to Let’s Talk About Loss and made you want to take on the Charity Lead role?
Catrin: Because I would have honestly loved to have attended a Let’s Talk About Loss meet up! I experienced grief as a young adult, and I remember so clearly the feeling of not quite knowing how to carry it. I would have absolutely loved a room full of friends who understood that from the inside. So, when this opportunity came up, it felt less like a job application and more like something I genuinely wanted to be part of. I’ve also done maternity cover leadership before! I love the challenge of it, coming in with fresh eyes, but also holding things steady so the organisation can be handed back in great shape. It’s a particular kind of stewardship and one that can be really satisfying
Catrin asked Beth: What has surprised you the most about leading the charity – and what do you wish you had known before you started?
Beth: I never intended to start a charity – when I began Let’s Talk About Loss, it was a blog where I shared my own grief story, and it grew quite unexpectedly from there. So there have been lots of things that have been surprising about leading a charity, and lots that I wish I had known before I started! I think the main challenge has been fundraising – like many small charities we have to be constantly thinking about income in order to ensure that we can continue to support people. I’ve had to learn a lot about fundraising, as that wasn’t something I knew anything about beforehand! On a more positive note, one really special surprise has been quite how many people have wanted to be involved with Let’s Talk About Loss. I had no idea it would ever grow beyond a small group of friends in Nottingham, so to get to this point is still a bit unbelievable, but it’s been so wonderful – and maybe it was best I didn’t know that before I started, or I might have been daunted and not started anything at all!
Beth asked Catrin: What are you most excited about doing this year?
Catrin: Honestly, it might sound a little crazy, but right now it’s the Monitoring and Evaluation Framework! I can’t wait to help Let’s Talk About Loss get clearer on what it’s achieving and then shout about it to the world. I’ve also heard there are some wild plans for an AI-use policy! I’ve worked quite a bit at the intersection of small charity leadership and digital development. Getting that kind of policy right really matters especially for an organisation working in the grief space. I’m hoping I’ll be able to contribute something useful there too.
Catrin asked Beth: What has the community taught you that you couldn’t have anticipated when you first founded Let’s Talk About Loss?
Beth: I have learnt so much from the Let’s Talk About Loss community, most importantly about how grief is so different and unique for everyone. I always say, we are all only experts on our own grief, and so for me I’ve had a lot to learn about how grief can show up in different ways, and that for many people, their grief journey has looked very different from mine! The community has also taught me that there are lots of people who do want to talk about loss – and I’ve been so glad to find so many people who are as passionate as me that it should not be a taboo topic!
Beth asked Catrin: Why do you think it’s important to talk about loss?
Catrin: Because when we don’t talk about grief, people end up carrying it alone, often quietly convinced that what they’re feeling is too much, or maybe too strange, or going on for too long. Grief is one of the most human experiences there is, and yet somehow, we’ve built a culture that is genuinely quite bad at making space for it (and particularly bad at making spaces for young people to grieve). That’s why I think what Let’s Talk About Loss is doing is so quietly radical! Radical change, it turns out, can happen over a flat white in your local café.
Catrin asked Beth: What do you hope to come back to – and is there anything you’re secretly hoping someone else will have sorted?
Beth: I know that you Catrin, the Trustees, and all our amazing volunteers are going to do a brilliant job of looking after the charity while I’m on maternity leave. I think it will be good for me to have a break, as Let’s Talk About Loss has been something I haven’t really ever stopped thinking about since 2018! I know the charity will continue to go from strength to strength, but the main thing I’m hoping to come back to is a charity that has evolved and grown in new ways under your leadership. I think a fresh pair of eyes on the charity will really help uncover things that could be better, and areas for us to grow and develop, so I’m excited to see all that you will do. And if you can find the secret tree that money grows on while I’m away, that would be great too haha!!
Beth French and Catrin Beynon
If you’d like to get in touch with Catrin, you can email hello@letstalkaboutloss.org.
To support our work financially, please visit our Donate page. Your kindness and generosity are so appreciated, and help us ensure that no young griever grieves alone!