Your stories can also show other bereaved families that they are not alone, and can help change attitudes about people in prison, police custody, immigration and mental health detention.
Guidance on writing a blog for us
Who?
We welcome blogs from bereaved families and friends affected by deaths involving the state or multi-agency failures. These include deaths in police custody, in prison, in immigration detention, deaths involving mental health services and disasters such as the Grenfell Tower Fire and the Hillsborough Disaster.
You don't need to have received support from INQUEST to contribute.
Topic
The first thing to think about is what you want to talk about. You should narrow down the issues and think about three clear points you want to make. For example, do you want to talk about the care your relative received or your struggle to get properly funded legal representation at your inquest.
Structure
You should aim for a blog of around 600-800 words. Think about how you want to begin and end your blog. What is the first thing you want a person to read? How will you draw them in? You can also include examples and how something made you feel, as this will provide a more engaging account of the issues you want to flag.
Tone
Always speak in the way you feel most comfortable, and try to be as simple and honest as you can be. Sometimes it is helpful to just write without stopping, as this allows you to put all your thoughts down on paper before going back to edit them.
Publishing
To ensure the final blog is clear and easy to read, we may edit it slightly. If you want your name, social media handle and photo to be published alongside the blog, please send us your details in an email.
Inspiration
If you want to see some examples of blog posts from bereaved families and friends please see the Related content panel below.
