New bereavement support for people in west Essex

St Clare Hospice has developed new bereavement support services for local people who are experiencing loss…

St Clare Hospice has recently launched a new Bereavement Support Helpline, thanks to funding from the National Lottery’s Community Fund.

The new helpline, 01279 967670, has been set up in response to a community need for immediate emotional support, information and guidance. This is because the number of local people experiencing bereavement has sadly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Bereavement Support Helpline operates between 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. It is run by a team of hospice staff and volunteers. They are trained to provide emotional support and practical guidance for those who would like extra support after the loss of someone close.

The helpline is open to all local people living in west Essex and east Hertfordshire who feel they would benefit from extra support following bereavement. Regardless of how long ago their loss was.

People looking for support can call the helpline for:

• a listening ear, and emotional support from our trained St Clare staff and volunteers
• information and guidance on what to do after a death – things like:
  • registering a death
  • closing accounts
  • planning a funeral
  • other practical arrangements and considerations
• sign-posting to other St Clare services, as well as resources in the local community that could benefit them.

St Clare Hospice has organised a launch and information event for local professionals and volunteers to find out more about the Helpline. The event is taking place this Friday (3 July) at 2pm, via Zoom.

If you would like to attend the launch and information session, click on the link below.

Join Zoom meeting

Meeting ID: 984 7814 2351
Password: 148517

The helpline forms part of a new bereavement support service, for everyone in west Essex and east Hertfordshire. Itis currently being developed by the hospice. The first element of this service was the creation of Bereavement Cafés, which enable people to connect with others and create new support networks.

The first Bereavement Café event launched at the hospice in Hastingwood during February 2019. Over the next year, a number of other weekly and monthly Bereavement Café events started to take place regularly throughout the local community. More events continued to develop in response to local demand.

These stopped due to the COVID-19 outbreak. In light of this, cafe organisers began to develop new ways to help people connect with each other – this time in a virtual space. There are now eight Bereavement Café online communities running via Facebook. The hospice is planning to run the cafés, via Zoom, in the near future.

The hospice has created a new video to promote its Bereavement Support Service. Watch the short film below.

Find a local, online Bereavement Café community group on the St Clare Hospice Facebook page under the ‘Groups’ tab.

For more information about the Bereavement Support Helpline, please visit the St Clare Hospice website.