- Feel Good
- 18th Jun 2025
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- 0 minute
Sarah’s Star: A charity bringing light to life-limiting journeys
Based in North Shields, Sarah’s Star is more than just a charity, it’s a community hub offering comfort, connection, and hope to those affected by incurable and life-limiting illnesses.
Based at the Linskill Centre, Sarah’s Star supports not only individuals diagnosed with terminal conditions, but also their families, carers, young people, and even NHS professionals across Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Sunderland, Northumberland, South Tyneside, and even Northern Ireland.
Born from Sarah’s Story
The charity was founded in 2019 by Sarah Harrison, a mother of two who, after a breastcancer recurrence, refused to let diagnosis define her quality of life. She said:
“My biggest fear right now is feeling completely useless… This disease can take so much away but… together we can keep shining through the dark times.”
Sarah Harrison
Sarah’s vision is clear: to create a place where every person feels both valuable and seen, no matter their health journey.
Listen to Sarah’s story on her new podcast, Living Matters.
Services that nurture wellbeing
Sarah’s Star offers a holistic suite of services, from gentle movement to grief support:
- Holistic therapies including massage, reiki, yoga, sound baths, Pilates and drumming aimed at soothing mind, body, and spirit.
- Community gatherings such as Knit & Natter, Armchair Warriors (low-impact exercise), book clubs, creative workshops, and even “Death Cafés” to demystify end-of-life conversations.
- Emotional and grief support through peer groups and one-to-one counselling, with specialist initiatives like “The Grief Circle”, delivered alongside counsellor Nicola Gauld for bereaved residents across Northumberland and North Tyneside.
Their events calendar is impressively packed, including sound baths, drumming sessions, Pilates, yoga at Tynemouth Sailing Club, and glamour shoemakeover workshops.
Making grief less lonely
Special focus is placed on bereavement in children too, offering mentoring and safe spaces for young minds to express and heal. This echoes Sarah’s belief: “No one faces grief alone”, an ethos that permeates every knitting circle, soundbath, or shared cup of tea.
Looking ahead
Sarah’s Star is stepping into a phase of growth. Recent trustees have joined, bringing skills in leadership, resilience, and wellbeing to support its mission. Their outreach is expanding into schools, universities and the NHS, normalising conversations around incurable illness and grief and inviting broader engagement.
The heart of Sarah’s Star
Born from lived experience, and grown through community care and voluntary spirit, Sarah’s Star is a place where every person, whether diagnosed, grieving, or coping, finds a hand to hold, a voice to listen, and a space to thrive.
If you’ve ever felt isolated by illness or loss, consider stepping into Room 11 at the Linskill Centre.
Sarah’s Star, Room 11, Linskill Centre, North Shields, NE30 2AY
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