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Grief cafe provides valuable support to Hampshire community
A free grief café has been providing valuable support and connections to local residents in Hampshire, after it opened last month.
The Good Grief Café at GreenAcres Heatherley Wood, in partnership with The Good Grief Trust
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The Good Grief Café is held at award-winning cemetery and ceremonial park, GreenAcres Heatherley Wood, and has been launched in partnership with leading bereavement charity, The Good Grief Trust.
Following an unprecedented 18 months when people from all walks of life have been affected by loss, a recent survey from GreenAcres found that nearly a third (29%) of people in the South East have discussed death and their funeral preferences more frequently with loved ones compared to before the coronavirus pandemic - highlighting the importance of enabling open conversations about grief and end of life.
Designed to offer an umbrella of support to people in Hampshire, the Good Grief Café takes place on the first Saturday of every month and is run by Good Grief Trust volunteers who have all been bereaved themselves, alongside trained members of the team from GreenAcres, to connect and signpost people to services across the region and help them find a way forward.
Commenting on the success of the café, Rebecca Pointeau, part of the support team at GreenAcres Heatherley Wood, said: “It is already clear that families and our surrounding community are having a really positive experience from this initiative.
“At our last Café, we were able to introduce three young widows to each other, all about a year apart in their grief journey. They have since met up and gone for drinks. Bringing people together and watching them bond and support each other through their experiences is what we have hoped to do at the Cafés so it’s great that this has already been possible so early on.”
Andy Tait, CEO at GreenAcres, commented:
“Our recent survey findings highlighted that nearly half (44%) of people in the South East talk to those close to them about death, which is encouraging to hear. We’re
Linda Magistris committed to doing all we can to help normalise these conversations and provide people with the support they need when faced with moments of grief and loss, and our Cafés allow us to offer these crucial services to the local community in their time of need.”
The Good Grief Trust was founded in 2016 by Linda Magistris, to help all those affected by grief in the UK. It is the country’s leading bereavement network, bringing together over 800 charities and support services.
Linda added: “Grief can be complicated, but access to support should never be. Our vision is to ensure that no-one grieving feels alone and that they know where to find tailored help from day one.
“By hosting monthly Good Grief Cafés across GreenAcres’ parks, we will be able to extend our reach for the bereaved and continue to build strong local networks that will enable people to access peer-to-peer support alongside professional guidance and services."
The Good Grief Café at GreenAcres Heatherley Wood Park takes place on the first Saturday of every month.
Originally opened in 2015 and recently extended, GreenAcres Heatherley Wood Park is set in 12 acres of woodland and wildflower meadows, and offers a unique location for memorial services, cremation services and burials.
To find out more visit Pop Up Good Grief Cafes – The Good Grief Trust and to register a place email: hello@thegoodgrieftrust.org.uk.
• GreenAcres is a member of the Institute of
Cemetery and Crematorium Management (ICCM), Society of Allied Independent
Funeral Directors (SAIF), National
Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) and Federation of Burial and Cremation
Authorities (FBCA), and as such is independently assessed by national organisations that monitor the industry standards. • Survey source: GreenAcres Group
September 2021, YouGov UK population.
About The Good Grief Trust
Julie Dunk, Heather White and Linda Magistris
• The Good Grief Trust was founded by
Linda Magistris in 2016 and exists to help all those affected by grief in the UK. • The Trust aims to find the bereaved, acknowledge their grief and provide reassurance, a virtual hand of friendship and ongoing support. • The Trust’s vision is to bring all bereavement services together around the country, to ensure that everyone receives the support they need to move forward with their lives.
For more information visit www.thegoodgrieftrust.org
