Don’t face Grief alone

by Natalie McCulloch

Losing someone can be one of the most painful times of your life and can impact on all aspects of your health and wellbeing. No one can take that pain away or tell you what grief will look like for you, or when it will ease, however what they can assure you of is that you do not have to face grief alone.

Let CRUSE be there for you…

‘Cruse’, the UK’s leading Bereavement charity, has a vision of a world where everyone grieving is supported, respected and understood. Through information, campaigning and support, they make this vision achievable.

Cruse offer a range of services to help people when they need it the most including an information packed website, FREE helpline, one to one counselling support and support via social media. These services aim to be inclusive to meet everyone’s needs, no matter what gender, age or stage of the grieving process someone is in.

They even involve nature….

The link between mood, wellbeing and exercise is widely promoted, just getting out in the fresh air and surrounding yourself with nature can make a big difference. Walking with others can help you to form connections, walking side by side can also make difficult conversation feel easier than talking face to face. For this reason, the Connecting Communities Project have launched the ‘We walk together’ walking group in Cardiff for those experiencing bereavement. It’s generally a gentle walk around Roath Park followed by coffee and cake offering a chance to come along and talk to people in a similar position. The walk takes the form of informal talking, it’s not counselling, but the chance for people to find someone to talk to who understands where they are coming from. Anyone can come and there is no need to register. If you have any queries just give Nigel Doré a call (07939 936112), he would be delighted to answer any questions you may have and guide you in the right direction.

Nigel Doré is the community development officer for Cruse, and encourages people to get involved:

“What would I say to people thinking of coming, just come along, find out what we are about and if it’s not for you we can talk to see what may suit you.”

Over to you….

We will all be bereaved at some point in our lives, and 60% of us will turn to our friends, families, colleagues and communities for support. Cruse are passionate about enabling others to help themselves and their communities. They aim to broaden people’s understanding of loss and bereavement, develop knowledge on how to provide emotional and practical support for those grieving and increase skills to help support others within their communities. Research shows that in the UK just under half of people (49%) who have not experienced a bereavement feel unprepared in knowing what to say to a bereaved friend or relative. In response to this, Cruse have recently launched the community grief hub in STAR Hyb, in Splott Park, where ‘Compassionate Community Workshops’ will be run monthly to help people to feel more confident to talk about grief and bereavement and give them the skills to help bereaved community members when they need it most. Each workshop runs for 3.5 hours and can have up to 20 attendees, they are suitable for anyone in the community who wants to learn more about grief.

The Community Grief Hub is aiming to break down barriers surrounding grief and to support communities to have conversations about grief and bereavement. Nigel Doré, the community development officer for Cruse, is working closely with local CO-OP representatives and community leaders to deliver training groups across Splott and build relationships across the community to identify ways to best support people experiencing bereavement and grief. If you would like to attend the free training sessions, or support Cruse in engaging with your community then get in touch! Maybe you think this training could help your workplace in supporting grief? Or maybe the community group you attend could support having these conversations? Whatever your reason, there is a warm welcome waiting for you.

Children and young people who are experiencing bereavement are encouraged to utilise Cruse services designed especially with their needs in mind. Cruse are keen to develop bereavement services for this age range and invite people aged 12-24 to join their Youth Advisory Group. This group will work together to promote young Cruse, give advice and training on youth bereavement issues and raise community awareness of the issues surrounding childhood bereavement. If you are a young person and want to help others following a bereavement, want to gain skills and meet new people why not consider joining the Youth Advisory Group and make a difference to your peers.

If you are interested in knowing more about any of the services or opportunities listed above, please don’t hesitate to contact Nigel to find out more!

Get in touch with Nigel to hear more and get involved!

Nigel Doré Community Development Officer Cruse Bereavement Support

Mobile: 07939 936112

Email: Nigel.Dore@cruse.org.uk

Together we can build a community where grief and bereavement are met with compassion, care and open communication.