SARAG Newsletter Summer 2026

Did you have any military service?  Let SARAG know!

Did you have National service or any military service in the Army, Royal Navy or RAF or even the Territorial Army? 

It is important that you make sure that we know in SARAG as you may be entitled to an additional payment. 

Please ring your advisor – Caroline, Jane, Jason or Ruth or ring the office – 01709 360 672  and we will check if you are eligible.

SYCF Award recognises SARAG’s community service

We were honoured to receive an award from the South Yorkshire Community Foundation (SYCF) in recognition of over 25 years of service to our community — something Nev and the team are incredibly proud of.

Postcode Lottery Award

In April, we were pleased to receive a £50,000 grant from the Postcode Lottery. This will go a long way in supporting our much-needed benefits service.

Workers Memorial Day 2026

In April, advisers Jason and Jane and Head of Service and Charity Development Nev each attended events in Leeds, Doncaster and Keighley respectively to commemorate this year’s Workers Memorial Day. 

We promoted the charity and renewed calls for the safe and urgent removal of asbestos from all public buildings. 

Jane chaired the Leeds event which was the biggest it has been for years, with over 200 people present. They arranged pairs of shoes beside boards with the names and ages of some of the workers who were killed at work in Yorkshire last year, which was very moving.

Workers Memorial Day takes place each year on 28th April and recognises the people whose lives have been affected by workplace illnesses and those who have died in work related incidents. It’s also a chance to focus on improving working practices to reduce and avoid harm.

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New staff

Following a busy period of recruitment earlier in the year, we’re pleased to introduce three new members of staff to our small team. 

Meet Emily, Wanda and Sarah…

Emily

I’m Emily and I’m the new Activity and Support Group Co-ordinator. I started my role on 20 April, and so far I am absolutely loving my time with the team here at Yorkshire and Humberside Asbestos Support Group.

I’m fortunate that I get to be out and about meeting our lovely service users at the Social Groups every week, which means I also get to see and hear firsthand how people value the services offered by our organisation. I feel very lucky to be able to play a small part in that and look forward to meeting more of you at our groups. 

Please drop in for a cuppa and chat!

Wanda

I’m Wanda and I’m the Administrator and Communications Officer and I’m usually the one answering the phone when you call the office. Since joining the team in March, I’ve spoken to so many interesting people, many facing life changing and difficult circumstances and I’m humbled by their remarkable resilience and spirit. As well as the administration side of things, I’m looking forward to raising awareness about our charity through our communications such as the newsletter, our website and social media. If you’ve been helped by us and want to share your story please get in touch.

Sarah

I’m Sarah and I joined SARAG in June as the new Fundraising and Finance Officer. I previously worked as the fundraiser for East Midlands Asbestos Support and after a couple of years out to widen my experience, I’m glad to be back in the world of asbestos support, as tackling industrial diseases and injuries is something that I feel strongly about. I’m also pleased to be back working in my home county of South Yorkshire – at least I won’t get teased for my accent here like I did in the East Midlands! I’ll be looking at ways that we can bring in new funds so that we can reach out to as many people as possible with our vital service – I love writing grant applications! But if you have a fundraising idea that you would like to put forward I’d be more than happy to have a chat – just drop me an email at 

sarah@saragasbestossupport.org

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Online Social Group for people living with asbestos related diseases

Our friendly and relaxed online monthly meet-up where you can talk, listen or join with others who understand. 

• Join from the comfort of your own home.
• Families and carers welcome.
• Join on your smart phone, tablet or computer.
• No Zoom experience needed, we’ll guide you step-by-step.

When: First Wednesday of the month from 11am to 12 noon.

If you’d like to join, email emily@saragasbestossupport.org or give Emily a call on 07363 047 477

Dates For Your Diary

Bereavement Peer Support Zoom Meetings

Thursdays 10am to 11:30am

13th & 27th August

10th and 24th September

The Pause – A space to ‘just be’ 

An online gathering, Mondays at 10am 

(except bank holidays):

3rd, 10th, 17th & 24th August

Find out more about The Pause on page 14

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Mesothelioma book launch

On 9th July, Nev, our Head of Service and Charity Development, attended the launch of a very special book – Understanding Mesothelioma. The book is a practical reference for anyone working with people with mesothelioma and their families.

Speaking after the event, Nev said, ‘It was a pleasure to speak at the launch of the Understanding Mesothelioma book at The University of Sheffield. Alongside promoting this important publication, I was proud to highlight the work of our charity and the strong relationships we have with professionals from across the mesothelioma community. It was inspiring to hear from so many of the book’s authors, and the event also provided a wonderful opportunity to raise funds for Mesothelioma UK and the Yorkshire and Humberside Asbestos Support Group (SARAG).’

The book is available in digital and paper formats through the publisher  routledge.com and other booksellers such as Amazon.

Attendance Allowance and Pension Credit

Attendance Allowance and Pension Credit

Could you be missing out on additional benefits? Ruth Davies, one of our adviser team members, talks about how these benefits can help make a difference.

A payment of Attendance Allowance can make a real difference to someone’s income and quality of life. It has surprised me how many people are eligible for Pension Credit but have not claimed it.

By way of background, Attendance Allowance is a disability benefit for those over pension age and pays either £76.70 or £114.60 per week.

It is not means-tested so eligibility is not affected by your income or money in the bank.

When an application for Attendance Allowance is made the DWP look at all your medical conditions which cause you difficulty including any asbestos related disease.

Despite its name, it does not have to be spent on a carer. You can use it however you like – for example, something to help you live in your home, treats for yourself or your family, something that you have wanted but could not afford or even for days out.

How do you get qualify for it? For anyone with mesothelioma, it is extremely likely that if you apply for Attendance Allowance, you will get the higher amount. This is even if at the time you applied, you are feeling OK. 

For those with other asbestos related conditions, getting the benefit will require you to show that you could do with help for example getting dressed or just for someone to keep an eye on you, say you are prone to falls.

Some pensioners who have capital and income can get an increase in the amount of other benefits received once they get Attendance Allowance. They can become eligible for Pension Credit despite having savings. Also, they may not have to pay council tax or as much council tax or rent. 

At Yorkshire and Humberside Asbestos Victims Support Group we can help our clients by checking how much benefit they might get so that they can decide which benefits they wish to apply for.

If you want to speak to one of our team, please get in touch. 

Our contact details are on the back page.

SARAG Social Groups

Make sure you visit our social groups page to check out where and when we meet.

New online group is the place to pause and relax

The Pause

Slow down, calm your mind, rebalance your nervous system and take some time out for you though simple breathing and relaxation techniques at ‘The Pause’.

This new weekly online gathering is for people who use our service, and their carers, to come together in a safe space to ‘pause’ and relax.

Each session will take place on Zoom, each Monday morning at 10am for around an hour and will be led by Deb Williams, our Bereavement and Support Worker.

Deb’s looking forward to sharing this new space and says ‘it’s a place where we can all turn up and just ‘be’, for ourselves and for each other’.

If you’re interested in finding out more, 

email: deb@saragasbestossupport.org

Deb will also share the Zoom link by email so you can join the session.

Finding Our Feet

Bereavement & Family Support Service

Welcome to the summer 2026 edition of SARAG’s newsletter and the submission from our Bereavement and Family Support Service. 

I hope you find ‘Finding Our Feet’ supportive, informative and compassionate. We also welcome and encourage submissions from both our bereaved community and those facing an anticipated bereavement. This is your space to share and to support each other on this journey, if you so wish. 

Summer! Wow. I can’t believe we are here already! Where does time go? 

This is the time of year when the sun is at its highest. The days are longer, and the nights are shorter. The beautiful spring translucent lime green leaves mature and become much darker in colour in a quest to soak up more of the sun’s life-giving light and energy.  

Grief is a complex and a hugely personal experience, one that knows no boundaries of time or season. Yet, there can be an unexpected shift in its intensity when summer arrives. The longer days can just make the days ‘feel’ that much longer, and the burden of loss can feel so much heavier. 

During the winter, it can be easier to stay inside, avoid loved ones, and decline social gatherings. But once the weather warms up, feelings of sadness can deepen as those around you are happier, more active, and excited to enjoy all that summer has to offer.

Summer is associated with beauty, family gatherings, picnics, camping, BBQs, festivals and many other warm-weather pleasures. But if you’ve lost someone you love, everything you used to enjoy about summer may be different. Very often, bereaved people find it hard to cope with sadness at a time when everyone else is out there having fun.

It is common for grievers to think “The flowers don’t matter. The sun doesn’t matter. Everyone’s celebrating but I feel so sad, so alone. Summer doesn’t matter because the person I love isn’t here anymore.”  It may be that you think that you ‘should feel happy’ in summer, because you don’t want to spoil other people’s fun, but find it hard to enjoy things that were fun in the past.

Our pain can feel like it intensifies as each new season brings new memories of the person who has died, along with the realisation that you can no longer share experiences together. Revisiting special times can be painful and difficult and may seem like a setback in the grieving process. What is important to remember: grief is not a typical emotion, nor is it predictable.

Emotions can come like waves, and when they hit, keep in mind that grief has no timetable. It’s not about moving on; it’s about adapting over time and dealing with the loss in a way that helps you. It is about building resilience so that you can more easily sit with your grief without it being too painful or overwhelming. This might mean meeting with a counsellor or a support group, writing in a journal, or turning to those around you who offer encouragement and a listening ear. It might mean stepping out and letting the healing powers of nature nurture you.  Feel the warmth of the sun on your face, sit quietly under the shade of a tree, listen to the whispers of a babbling brook. Nature has a place for you, it will hold you and it will listen without judgment, without criticism and without expectation. Nature never hurries, so allow yourself to go slowly, taking one day at a time. Embody the warmth and the longer days in your own way and you too will arrive at your own summer. 

I hope you enjoy our submission in SARAG’s newsletter. Please feel free to contact me directly either by email at deb@saragasbestossupport.org, or by phone or text on 07714 172 416. 

It might be that you would like to write your own poem, share a story, or have some ideas that you think will help our Bereavement and Family Support Service, please get in touch, we’d love to hear from you.

Take care until next time. 

You know where I am.

Warmest of wishes, Deb.

Creative Corner

28 – Bin

By Dave Robinson 

Missed my Friday bin collection and I feel like shit

I really should have remembered it.

Wrote it large in my diary for it to be read

on Thursday night before I went to bed.

Mostly I remember – “put the garbage bag in the bin”

and prepare for the dustbin-men before Thursday night draws in.

But times, I awake dishevelled – leap out before Friday’s dawn

just to sort out the bloody bin before the dustbin-wagon’s gawn.

In dressing gown and slippers and woolly hat and scarf

you’ll catch me flip-flopping, hip-hopping down the frosty garden path.

Braving all the high winds, sleet, and snow and rain

just to drag my protesting wheelie-bin to the very edge of the lane. 

Ordinarily I should just remember this task

a twice-monthly action not a great thing to ask?

But ordinarily I would not spend my night

thinking of angels and you and your heaven-bound flight.

Most of my days are full of ordinary things

whilst my nights are still disturbed by the whirling of wings.

I’m told the passing of time will gradually help me recover

and that – in time – a new page of my life will slowly turn over.

So. Will ‘BinGate’, I idly wonder, still be the bane of my life

when time-provided remedies help me cope with the 

loss of my darling wife?

We’d love to hear from people who find our services useful. Perhaps you’re a creative writer, culinary whizz or musical maestro with a story to tell?  Share it with us, our contact details are on the back page.

Here’s a little natural mindfulness exercise for you to try:

Walking Mindfully

Like exercise, the benefits of meditation are many, such as reducing stress, improving focus and attention to facilitating healing on many levels such as heart health to boosting immunity. 

A walking meditation is a way of combining exercise with meditation, and it can be done outside in nature, whether that be in your own garden, in a park or wood or around your neighbourhood. You can of course do the walk indoors, but it is nice and has been proven scientifically to be good for us if we are able to get outside in the fresh air and in as much greenery as possible. 

The aim of the walking meditation is to walk, intentionally paying attention to each step. To help you to do this it might be good to plan your route, know your destination and to choose a trail that you are familiar with and where you feel safe. 

1. Stand up as straight as is comfortable. Don’t be afraid to use a walking aid if this is required.

2. Close your mouth and rest your tongue on the roof of your mouth (a good tongue posture helps maintain balance).

3. Place your arms and hands so that they do not swing around. Holding them gently at your side is a good place.

4. Take a gentle, light breath in through the nose, and a slow, gentle and relaxed breath out.

5. Synchronise your breath with your steps and pace. Step and inhale, slow and deliberately and then step and exhale with intention. Keep going, with each step being an inhale and then an exhale.

6. Begin to bring your attention to the lifting of your foot and placing it down on the ground, then lifting and placing the other foot down on the ground. 

7. Continue to walk in this careful and controlled way, paying attention to every step and each breath. 

8. As with any mindfulness practice, when you notice your mind wandering, gently bring it back to focusing on the foot and breath. When thoughts arise, look at them, don’t ignore them, and then let them go without judgement.

9. Start off practising for a couple of minutes or so, building the time up gradually. 

Microwave cheesy leek and potatoes

Preparation time – Less than 

30 mins. Cook 10 to 30 mins 

Serves 1

A simple, quick and satisfying gratin-style supper that’s given a touch of indulgence with the addition of a little cream. Serve just as it is or with some bread for mopping up all the delicious sauce. 

Ingredients 

• 250g/9oz potatoes, well washed and cut into roughly 2.5cm/1in chunks

• 100ml/3½fl oz hot chicken or vegetable stock, made with ½ stock cube

• 1 medium leek, around 150g/5½oz, trimmed and thinly sliced

• 4 tbsp double cream

• 25g/1oz cheddar cheese, finely grated

• ground black pepper

• pinch paprika (optional)

• fresh bread, to serve

Method 

1. Put the potatoes in a medium, shallow microwaveable dish. It will need to be wide enough for the potato chunks to sit in a single layer.

2. Pour over the stock and season with ground black pepper. Cover with a microwaveable lid or plate and cook on HIGH for 4 minutes 30 seconds (1000W) 5 minutes 30 seconds (800W), or until the potatoes are just softened, stirring halfway. (Check with the tip of a knife, it should slide in easily.)

3. Scatter the leek on top, season with black pepper and cook on HIGH for 2 minutes (1000W), 2 minutes 30 seconds (800W), or until the leek has softened. Toss lightly with the potatoes and stock.

4. Drizzle with the cream and toss lightly before scattering the cheese over the top. Sprinkle with a little paprika, if using. Cook on HIGH for 2 minutes (1000W), 2 minutes 30 seconds (800W), or until the cheese melts. Sprinkle with more ground black pepper and serve with bread if you like.

Recipe tips

For a more traditional finish, simply place the dish (as long as it is flameproof) under a hot grill until the topping is lightly browned.

If you have any small pieces of bacon, ham or chorizo handy, try adding to the dish halfway through the potato cooking time.

You can use sliced broccoli florets or any green leafy vegetable instead of the leek if you like.

This recipe has been costed using two slices of wholemeal bread from the store cupboard but you can use any bread you have handy.

By Justine Patterson  (BBC Food)

Well-being, breathing exercises

Each quarter, I will aim to bring you an exercise that could help with how grief/bereavement might be negatively affecting your breathing, and thus your overall well-being.

Being bereaved, experiencing grief and/or anticipating grief, is a very stressful time. Being stressed can affect our breathing. Our everyday breathing patterns are often overlooked in the management of stress, anxiety, and panic. However, the way we breathe every day, influences how we feel and how much stress we experience. It also dictates how we breathe and how our bodies respond during high-stress situations. This breath-mind connection is not new-age ‘woo woo’. It has long been accepted by the scientific community that how we breathe affects which branch of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) – the ‘fight or flight’ sympathetic branch responsible for the stress response, or the parasympathetic ‘rest and digest’ responsible for relaxation, is activated. Our breath is a fundamental ‘state changer’ and by manipulating our breath and changing how we breathe, we can alter how we feel on both a physiological basis and a psychological basis.

Where possible, breathe only through the nose. Good functional, everyday breathing incorporates breathing through the nose during rest, activity, and sleep. Breathing through the nose takes practise and consistency. This will initially take conscious practice. Nasal breathing triggers the relaxation response and helps to prevent over-breathing which is a major fueller of anxiety and panic. Nasal breathing during wakefulness slows and draws the air into the lower parts of the lungs. This may help to maintain the strength and function of the breathing muscles and reduce the feeling of breathlessness.

When we are feeling stressed: 

• Breathing becomes faster • Sighing becomes more frequent • More air is breathed with each breath • Breathing tends to be primarily limited to the upper chest • We tend to breathe through the mouth • There is a sensation of air hunger or suffocation.

When we are feeling relaxed: 

• Slow breathing • More regular breathing (less frequent sighing and yawning) • Lighter breathing • Breathing low into the diaphragm • Breathing in and out through the nose • Effortless breathing with no feeling or sensation of air hunger.

A breathing exercise to help calm your body and mind – Breathe Deep (not big!)

When breathing becomes faster, harder, and from the upper chest, it feeds into feelings of panic and suffocation. To alleviate this, it is important to breathe slowly through the nose and deeply into the diaphragm. The following exercise will help engage your diaphragm. It can be helpful for sleep, optimal state of mind and physical movement.

BREATHE DEEP (Low, not big) directions

• Lie on your back, with your knees bent and your head supported.

• Place your right hand on your belly and your left hand on your chest.

• Start by noticing your breath, paying attention to your belly and chest.

• Gently start to breathe with your abdominal muscles and your diaphragm.

• Your right hand that is on your belly should start to rise with every inhale and fall with every exhale. You should feel very little movement of your chest with your left hand. 

• Breathe silently.

• As you breathe in, your right hand will gently rise as your tummy expands.

• As you breathe out, your right hand will gently fall as your tummy flattens.

• Do this for several minutes a day.

 *(Adapted from Atomic Focus by Patrick McKeown)

Word scramble – 

Yorkshire towns and cities   

Our puzzle is taking on a Yorkshire theme in celebration of Yorkshire Day on 1st August, a day to celebrate everything about our region. 

Unscramble the words to find the names of 12 towns and cities. We’ve given you the first letter to get you started; can you identify all 12?

1. Dnceaostr

2. Knrgbheursooa

3. Beyrelve

4. Psedyu

5. Woblwlem 

6. Dirdelffi 

7. Cklehaeotnc 

8. Slbey 

9. Boadfrdr 

10. Pingnclotok 

11. Hergtarao 

12. Meoburxgho 

Please donate to us

SARAG is only able to provide our service because of the generous donations made from our Solicitor panel members and individuals. 

We would like to take a moment to thank all of you who have donated or contributed to the charity over the years. 

Without this support the charity would cease to exist. 

Best wishes to you all.

If you feel you can donate to SARAG, this is how you can help:

Social Media links (please follow us):

LinkedIn: 

Yorkshire and Humberside Asbestos Support Group (SARAG)

X: 

Posts by yorkshireSARAG

Facebook: 

https://www.facebook.com/YorkshireSARAG

Facebook (private bereavement group): 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/saragbereavementsupport

SARAG In Loving Memory – please feel free to leave a message or tribute about a lost loved one: 

https://saragasbestossupport.org/activities/in-loving-memory