Five minute read
The grief you feel at the death of someone close to you doesn’t end with the funeral. It can hit you when the organising is over and people expect you to 'get back to normal’, or months later on an anniversary or special occasion.
Grief is normal, but it can still be overwhelming. Sharing how you feel with friends and family can help you to cope.
In addition, many wonderful organisations offer bereavement support in the form of a listening ear, helpful information and often the opportunity to connect with others in a similar situation.
If you’d like extra support, at any time, use the links below to contact them, or download our bereavement resources for specific situations.
If someone dies suddenly (PDF)
If a baby, child or young person has died (PDF)
Grief and bereavement support for everyone
The Good Grief Trust is run by bereaved people for bereaved people. They provide useful information, helplines, advice and share encouraging stories.
Cruse Bereavement Support provides personalised grief counselling, information and support. They have over 80 local branches and a free helpline.
Grief and bereavement support for children, young people and families
Winston's Wish supports children and young people after the death of a parent or sibling. They have a helpline, as well as email and online chat support, and run peer support groups for young people under 25.
Child Bereavement UK supports families when a baby or child of any age dies or is dying, or when a child is facing bereavement. As well as a helpline, they run groups for children, parents/carers and for families, as well as offering individual, confidential support. Find guidance on how to talk to children about death here.
The Compassionate Friends support bereaved parents and their families.
The Child Death Helpline, set up by Alder Hey hospital in Liverpool and Great Ormond Street hospital in London, runs a free helpline for bereaved parents, staffed by trained volunteers who are also bereaved parents.
Grief and bereavement support for miscarriage, stillbirth and baby loss
Sands supports anyone who has been affected by the death of a baby before, during or shortly after birth. They offer a free national helpline and a bereavement support app, a UK-wide network of support groups with trained befrienders, an online forum and other resources.
Tommy's provides information and support for anyone who has experienced the loss of a baby, whether through miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal death, or termination for medical reasons.
The Lily Mae Foundation provide bereavement support and resources for families who have lost a baby to stillbirth, neonatal death, miscarriage or medical termination. They are Warwickshire-based but with plenty of online resources.
The Miscarriage Association. Helpline, stories, information and support for those who have experienced miscarriage.
Grief and bereavement support from hospices
Hospices provide free bereavement support for the families and friends of those they have cared for, often with specialist support to help children through the emotional impact of grief.
They also often put on memorial events that allow bereaved families, friends, and carers to remember, celebrate and reflect upon the lives of those who have died. There is no time limit for any of this support.
Hospice UK bereavement support information
Grief and bereavement support when someone dies by suicide
The Support After Suicide Partnership brings together suicide bereavement organisations and people with lived experience to offer timely and appropriate support to anyone affected by suicide. It offers practical information, links to local support groups, and guidance for supporting others too.
Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide is an organisation run by people who have been impacted by suicide themselves. It provides information, support groups, an online forum and a helpline.
Specialist and peer-led grief and bereavement support
The Good Grief Project support grieving families through films, resources and active, creative retreats.
Care for the Family's Widowed Young Support is for anyone under the age of 50 or with dependent children whose partner has died. They provide support days and befriending.
Strong Men provides one-to-one and group peer support for men experiencing bereavement.
Grief Encounters is a peer support group for LGBTQ+ people experiencing bereavement.
Goodness Gracious Grief was created to bring together young people who have experienced the loss of a sibling.
Let's Talk About Loss run meet up groups for 18-35 year-olds who have experienced grief and loss.
Sudden provide information and resources for people affected by sudden death.
DrugFam provide support by phone, email or in-person for people bereaved due to drug, alcohol or gambling addiction, and the Bereaved through Alcohol and Drugs project provide online resources.
Brake and Roadpeace both provide support and resources for people bereaved by deaths on the road.
The Coroners' Courts Support Service offers emotional support and practical help to bereaved families, witnesses and others attending an Inquest at a Coroner’s Court.
The Loss Foundation supports people who are bereaved by cancer or Covid-19.
The Lone Twin Network supports people whose twin sibling has died at any age.
Local grief and bereavement support
Space2grieve offers free, confidential, one-to-one bereavement support to adults, children, young people and families who live in Richmond borough.
Other sources of support
This list is not exhaustive. We will do our best to keep it up to date and accurate, but we don’t have any control over the external websites listed here.
There is also an excellent collection of links and resources on the Cruse Bereavement Care website.
In most areas, there are also local bereavement groups, faith communities or counselling services which can offer support as well.
If you know of other organisations or support groups that you’ve found helpful, please do let us know. We’d love to share them with others who might need them too.
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