Unheard Guernsey

31/10/2026

Around 1 in 6 people will experience infertility in their lifetime. In Guernsey, many of them are facing it with very little help.

Infertility is a medical condition, not a lifestyle choice. IVF is healthcare. Yet in Guernsey, IVF treatment itself still isn't funded, and that's where the real cost lies. Across the UK, the average IVF cycle costs around £12,000.

Elsewhere, it's a very different picture:

🧡 Jersey offers up to three publicly funded IVF cycles, depending on eligibility, and its fertility charity Tiny Seeds offers emotional support and £400 travel grants

🧡 Scotland offers up to three NHS funded cycles

🧡 England funds IVF on the NHS, though how many cycles depends on the area

🧡 Denmark offers up to six funded attempts for a first child, and up to six for a second

Meanwhile, our birth rate is falling. Guernsey recorded 422 births in 2024, down from 635 just ten years earlier. Our population planning relies on people moving to the island as our population ages, yet we're not helping people who already live here and desperately want to start or grow their families.

We've been speaking with a local woman going through this right now. After being told as a child she would never conceive naturally, and despite working, she has spent years saving, borrowing and making sacrifices to fund her treatment abroad. She has skipped meals and stayed in hostels between appointments, all while going through one of the most physically and emotionally demanding experiences of her life.

Her most recent round ended in loss, and unexpected costs have now forced her to cancel this month's treatment. She has two attempts left.

She's asked to stay anonymous, because no one should face judgement for needing help to become a parent. Having a family shouldn't depend on how much money you have.

A family member has set up a fundraiser to help her continue treatment. If you're able to give even a little, or simply share this post, it would mean the world to her.

👉 https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/guernsey-ivf-hope

And to anyone in Guernsey going through fertility struggles quietly: you are not alone. It's time our island started treating infertility as the healthcare issue it is 🧡

Sources:
Guernsey IVF provision: https://www.gov.gg/IVF
Guernsey births 2024: https://www.gov.gg/maternityservices-data
Jersey funded IVF: https://www.gov.je/health/pregnancyandbirth/gettingpregnant/pages/fundedivf.aspx
UK IVF costs (Queen Mary University of London, 2025): https://qmul.ac.uk/media/news/2025/humanities-and-social-sciences/hss/new-study-reveals-significant-cost-disparities-and-information-gaps-in-uk-fertility-treatments.html

30/10/2026

🏡 Charity spotlight: At Home in Guernsey

Homelessness doesn't always look like people imagine. In Guernsey, it's often hidden: sofa surfing, sleeping in cars, staying somewhere unsafe because there's nowhere else to go, or living with the constant worry of losing your home.

At Home in Guernsey is a local charity set up in 2024 to support anyone on the island who is homeless or at risk of losing their home.

What they can help with:
🧡 Free, confidential support for anyone aged 18+
🧡 Help finding long-term housing
🧡 Life skills to help you keep a tenancy
🧡 Connecting you with other services that can help
🧡 A listening ear when things feel too much

Their support worker can meet you wherever and whenever suits you, and the support is completely voluntary. You stay in control.

If you or someone you know is struggling with housing, please reach out:

📞 Call or WhatsApp: 07781 150478
✉️ [email protected]

Asking for help isn't failing. It's the first step home 🧡

Please share. You never know who might need this.

29/10/2026

Jersey has announced that the first of five new laws in its "Violence Against Women and Girls" package will come into force on 1 December.

The existing crime of threatening to r**e, kill or seriously harm someone is being widened to cover threats of other sexual offences too, with up to 10 years in prison. Further laws covering stalking, strangulation, intimate image abuse, deepfakes and emergency protection from abusers will follow.

Guernsey has been working on its own laws covering stalking, strangulation and drink-spiking, and has just published a new strategy on this. Deputies, please tell islanders clearly what is now in place, and what protection and support people can expect.

We also want to say this clearly: abuse happens to everyone.

Yes, women and girls are affected the most. But in England and Wales, around 1.5 million men experienced domestic abuse in the year to March 2025, alongside 2.2 million women. Men and boys are victims too, and they deserve to be heard just as much.

And most people never report it. Figures from 2020 showed fewer than 1 in 5 people who were r**ed went to the police. Among those who didn't, the most common reasons were:

• Embarrassment
• Feeling the police couldn't help
• Fearing it would be humiliating
• Thinking they wouldn't be believed

On a small island, where everyone knows everyone, those fears can feel even bigger.

If something has happened to you, however long ago, you don't have to go to the police to get support:

📞 Sexual Assault Referral Helpline (24/7): 01481 227700
📞 Victim Support, including Independent Sexual Violence Advisers: 01481 223000
📞 Safer (domestic abuse support): 01481 721999

We believe you 🧡

Sources:
Jersey's new law (Bailiwick Express, 27 Oct 2026): https://www.bailiwickexpress.com/news/sexual-threats-law-marks-first-step-in-five-law-package-to-protect-women/

Jersey's new law (Channel 103): https://www.channel103.com/news/jersey/first-law-in-violence-against-women-and-girls-package-to-come-into-force/

Guernsey's agreed offences (Guernsey Press, 10 Apr 2025): https://guernseypress.com/news/2025/04/10/stalking-to-be-made-a-criminal-offence-after-domestic-violence-proposals-approved

Domestic abuse figures, ONS year to March 2025 (Domestic Abuse Commissioner): https://www.domesticabusecommissioner.uk/3-8-million-people-subject-to-domestic-abuse-in-the-last-year/

Reporting figures, ONS year to March 2020 (PoliticsHome): https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/ons-sexual-offences-in-england-2020-less-than-one-in-six-r**e-victims-report-crimes-police

The first law in the Government's work to directly tackle Violence Against Women and Girls will come into force on 1 December.

29/10/2026

🧡 Did you know about Caritas?

During the recent storms, we heard from many of you about people sleeping in cars, some in other people's cars because they don't have one of their own, and in bunkers around the island.

Not everyone reaches out for help. Sometimes it's pride or fear of judgement. Sometimes it's simply not knowing where to go. So we want to shine a light on a local charity that's here for exactly this.

Caritas Guernsey runs two emergency sleeping pods at the Vale Douzaine, a safe, warm alternative to sleeping rough. Each has a bed, a toilet, light and a place to charge your phone.

They also run the community café on Mill Street. Everyone is welcome, whatever their situation, whether you need a hot drink, something to eat or just someone to talk to.

If you or someone you know is facing homelessness, or just needs someone to talk to, please reach out:

📞 Call or WhatsApp: 07911 180263
✉️ [email protected]

No judgement. Just help.

Please share. You never know who's quietly struggling 🧡

27/10/2026

🔥 Community Wellbeing: Men's Fire Circle

So many men carry things quietly, with nowhere to put them down. This International Men's Day, there's a space on the island for exactly that.

Phil from Oak Tree Massage is holding a Men's Fire Circle: ten men gathered around a big log burner for an evening of ceremonial cacao, guided breathwork, storytelling and honest conversation.

You'll write down what you're ready to leave behind and burn it in the fire, then explore who you are, what matters to you and what you want to carry forward, supported by every man in the circle.

You don't need to have it all worked out. That's the whole point of coming together.

📅 Thursday 19 November
🕕 6pm to 9pm
🔥 Only 4 places left

Find out more and book here:
https://www.oaktreemassage.me/mens-fire-circle

If you know a man who could do with this, please share it or tag him below. 🧡

💬 Running something that supports wellbeing in our community? Support groups, workshops, free sessions, drop-ins, anything that helps people feel less alone. Send us a message, and we'll help share it.

24/10/2026

Storm Austen has battered us, and it's staying wet and windy all weekend. While we're battening down hatches and checking on our boats, there are people in Guernsey sleeping in tents.

Who is checking on them?

The States' storm advice covers bins, buses, boats and fallen trees. There is not one word about people sleeping rough.

Our island has two emergency sleeping pods, and they often have a waiting list. That isn't enough for weather like this.

Deputies, what is the plan to keep rough sleepers safe? Is there emergency shelter open for the next storm coming, and then the next one on Tuesday?

What are we actually doing to address the homelessness issue on a rich island like Guernsey?

People are being given tents when the leave Guernsey Prison, adding to the homelessness and creating even more of a crisis.

If you can help, please contact Caritas Guernsey and ask what they need right now. Sleeping bags, dry clothes, warm food, a lift, a phone charge. Small things matter when you're outside in this.

Nobody should be left to ride out a storm in a tent.

If you or someone you know is sleeping rough and needs help:

Caritas Guernsey emergency sleeping pods, a safe bed instead of sleeping rough
Call or WhatsApp 07911 180263
Email [email protected]

Salvation Army Community Centre, Nocq Road, St Sampson's
Free tea, coffee and toast in cold weather, plus low-cost meals
Mon to Wed and Fri 9:30am to 1pm, Sat 9:30am to 12pm
Call 01481 200216

Please share so it reaches someone who needs it.

Sources:

• Bailiwick Express: Emergency sleeping pods now open
• Salvation Army: Guernsey

21/10/2026

Another prison staff member has reportedly been suspended as part of a drugs related investigation at Guernsey Prison.

This comes just a week after a senior prison officer was charged in court in connection with M**A. And while I understand that investigations take time, it’s impossible for the public not to feel let down when the same place that’s meant to enforce rules and keep everyone safe is also allegedly dealing with drugs and misconduct from within.

What makes this even harder to swallow is the bigger issue behind it: how easy it is for people to become prison officers and staff members without the level of training, vetting, and support the job actually demands.

A prison isn’t like any normal workplace. You’re dealing with, at times, high risk individuals, complex safeguarding issues, security protocols, and the constant reality that rules can be undermined.

In other countries, including parts of Europe and places like the Netherlands, people often go through much more extensive training and longer pathways before they’re in roles like this. The expectation should be: if you’re going to stand in that position of authority, you’re properly prepared and properly vetted.

So yes, I’m angry. But I’m also focused on solutions. We need complete prison reform. Because what we currently do does not work, in at least not consistently enough to prevent this kind of failure happening again and again.

I want to hear from the community:

Do you think current training and vetting for prison staff is adequate?

If you’ve experienced this system firsthand (work, family, safeguarding concerns), what do you think needs to change?

Please comment below, even if you just share your perspective. The only way anything improves is if we’re honest about what’s failing and what reform should actually look like ⬇️

19/10/2026

Anyone recognise this? 🫠

🧾 Today’s word of the day Kakistocracy

Noun
US Pronunciation: /kak-uh-stok-ruh-see/
UK Pronunciation: /kak-ih-stok-ruh-see/
Origin: Greek

Meaning: A government ruled by the least competent and most unethical people.
A gentle reminder that language gives us a way to name difficult realities. Kakistocracy describes the danger of power without wisdom, ethics, or responsibility.

Example:
The writer used the word kakistocracy to criticize a deeply corrupt government.

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18/10/2026

Real life stories of trauma, addiction, homelessness, recovery and more.

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