For most of us, bereavement will be the most distressing experience we will ever face. Grief is what we feel when somebody we are close to dies. Everyone experiences grief differently and there is no ‘normal’ or ‘right’ way to grieve. This web page will signpost you to those who can help, support and offer advice, which included: Cruse Bereavement Care, Marie Curie: care and support through terminal illness, Childhood Bereavement Network, Drugfam: Supporting families affected by the use of drugs or alcohol. WAY (widowed and young)
Cruse Bereavement Care links:
https://www.cruse.org.uk/ or telephone FREE 0808 808 1677
(Monday and Friday 9.30am – 5pm, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 9.30am – 8pm (NOT BANK HOLIDAYS)
shropshire@cruse.org.uk or telephone 0845 6066 812
Bereavement help, support and advice could include the following:
What to do after someone dies, feelings when someone dies, how to help someone bereaved, supporting yourself, children;s grieg, coping and adapting, anniversaries and reminders when you are bereaved and bereavement at work.
Also there is guidance about:
Coping with a crisis, feelings after a crisis (numb, fear, sadness, longing, guilt, anger, helpless), relationships after a crisis, and what can help after a crisis?
Cruse Bereavement Care has a youth website: www.hopeagain.org.uk
Shropshire has a branch called Cruse Shropshire Cruse Services which supports bereaved people living in Shropshire, including young people and children.
https://www.cruse.org.uk/get-help/local-services/west-midlands/shropshire-telford-and-wrekin
The FREE services include:
One-to-one bereavement support for adults and young people, pre-bereavement support, bereavement support groups for adults, telephone support for adults.
Cruse offers FREE booklets and information.
https://www.cruse.org.uk/about-cruse/publications/free-booklets booklets
These resources cover the following:
Understanding bereavement, has someone died? restoring hope, coping with trauma and loss, after the death of someone very close, bereaved by suicide, when your parent dies: insights for bereaved adults and help and hope – for men living with loss.
Also offers a FREE Military bereavement publications which include:
Supporting Military Families, Supporting Families to Help their Children, Supporting Schools to Help their Pupils https://www.cruse.org.uk/about-cruse/publications/military-bereavement-publications
As well as DVDs for adults and children Please contact Gary Martin for more information on gary.martin@cruse.org.uk
https://www.cruse.org.uk/about-cruse/publications/recommended-books
Suggests books which may help in the areas of grief and bereavement, loss of a partner, youth and children, talking about grief and bereavement and disabilities.
The Cruse Bereavement Care website has links to other organisations and sources of help relating to bereavement, such as:
Covid-19, adults and older people, bereavement and befriending, loss of a child, loss in pregnancy or at birth, counselling, practical matters, specific illnesses and causes of death, faith-based information/services and pets.
WAY (widowed and young)
WAY (widowed and young) is a UK charity that offers a peer-to-peer support network for anyone who’s lost a partner before their 51st birthday – married or not, with or without children, whatever their sexual orientation.
https://www.widowedandyoung.org.uk/
Marie Curie: Care and support through terminal illness
https://www.mariecurie.org.uk/help/support
Under the sub-heading ‘How Can We Help?’ there is an on-line chat service as well as a call back service.
Telephone FREE 0800 090 2309 or 0121 752 9305
Open Monday to Friday, 8am-10pm; Saturday and Sunday, 10am-10pm
http://www.childhoodbereavementnetwork.org.uk/
The Childhood Bereavement Network (CBN) is the hub to support bereaved children, young people and their families across the UK.
Links to a few resources:
http://www.childhoodbereavementnetwork.org.uk/media/103287/grief-support-for-self.pdf http://www.childhoodbereavementnetwork.org.uk/media/103286/grief-support-from-parent-or-carer.pdf
http://www.childhoodbereavementnetwork.org.uk/media/103289/grief-support-from-friend.pdf
http://www.childhoodbereavementnetwork.org.uk/media/103288/grief-support-from-school.pdf
Winston Wishes
Winston’s Wish was the UK’s first childhood bereavement charity, supporting bereaved children since 1992 and is providing specialist child bereavement support services across the UK. This includes in-depth therapeutic support in individual, group and residential settings, as well as a Freephone National Helpline.
If a young person you know is finding it hard to cope with their grief and you want to help them call:
FREE 08088 020 021. They are open between 9.00am and 5.00pm, Monday to Friday.
Their Helpline is currently operating a remote service. Please leave a message on their voicemail with your first name and a contact number (with area code) and a Helpline Practitioner will call you back from a withheld number as soon as possible.
Drugfam: supporting families affected by a loved one’s use of drugs or alcohol.
Call: HELPLINE 0300 888 3853 or 020 3817 9410
There is also a facility to email direct to them.
Drugfam was set up by a mother who lost one of her identical twin sons, to heroin addiction in 2004. She struggled to find support for her own family during this harrowing time, and founded DrugFAM in 2006 with the sole aim of ensuring that no family, friends or carers are left living in isolation, fear or feeling there is nowhere to turn to.