A woman has organised the creation and delivery of thousands of knitted and crocheted bears to vulnerable communities across the country to “spread the teddy love”.
Jess Pearce, 64, who is based in Wallasey, Merseyside, made her first “trauma bear” about three years ago for the co-ordinator of a homelessness centre and, after seeing his positive reaction, decided to set up a Facebook group so others could join in.
There are now more than 6,000 members in an associated Facebook group from across the UK and abroad.
Trauma bears have been given to refugees and domestic abuse victims (Trauma Bears Facebook group/PA)
They have collectively provided bears to emergency services across the UK, refugees, domestic abuse victims and care home residents, as well as children affected by the fatal Southport stabbing attack in 2024, and victims of the war in Ukraine.
“When the incident happened in Southport last summer, I put a call out for bears as it was not just the families that were affected by it, it was all the children that lost their friends, so I thought it would be a good idea to give a bear to children so that they had a friend,” Mrs Pearce, a retired care manager, told the PA news agency.
“We received thousands – people were sending them to me from all over the UK, and my husband and I went over to Southport and we went to a fire station there, and a man who worked there was overwhelmed with how many we gave.”
Some of the trauma bears made by the group (Trauma Bears Facebook group/PA)
Fire service staff distributed the bears to other emergency services and schools in the area, an experience Mrs Pearce found “humbling”.
“You could feel the deep sense of mourning for the whole area; it was really moving and then you felt the positivity that the bears were going to bring,” she added.
The bears are made from wool and generally take several hours to put together and while they follow a similar pattern, no two bears are the same.
“Every bear is individual, so when we’ve given them to three or four children, you can tell whose bear is whose, which is lovely,” she added.
Each trauma bear is made with individual characteristics (Trauma Bears Facebook group/PA)
Members of the group post when they have made bears and one of the group’s 10 regional co-ordinators, including in London and Scotland, ensures they are sent to the most suitable locations.
“This helps make sure we can spread the teddy love,” Mrs Pearce added.
She said she feels “honoured” to be part of the group, especially when she hears about the impact the knitted and crocheted creations have made.
Trauma bears have been helping vulnerable communities across the UK (Trauma Bears Facebook group/PA)
“A friend helps an outreach team in Liverpool once every month and we sent trauma bears over there, and we hear that when they were giving the bears out, one man said: ‘Now I’ve got a friend’,” Mrs Pearce added.
“They’ve now got one trolley called the ‘teddy trolley’ and it’s purely full of teddy bears our team have made, and it’s wonderful.”
“Some of our bears have also gone to women who have lost babies, which is very humbling.”