Hospice set to mark National Grief Awareness Week with ‘Living with Grief’ talk

National Grief Awareness Week is a campaign run by The Good Grief Trust to help raise awareness of the impact of grief and the breadth of support available around the UK.

We know that around three-quarters of people have suffered a bereavement in the last five years (1) – but almost 40% of people say they struggle to get support.(2) That is why St Clare has been focussing on growing the charity’s bereavement support services over the past 3 years.

St Clare Hospice has an extensive range of free grief services including: Bereavement Cafés, a free GriefLine (01279 945089), and specialist services provided by their Patient & Family Support team including one-to-one support and counselling – as well as a dedicated service for children and young people. In total, around 2,000 people were supported last year – across the Patient & Family Support team, Bereavement Café attendances and GriefLine calls.

Head of the Patient & Family Support team, Sushma Dhami, said: “Bereavement is something which effects all of us at some point in our lives – sadly often multiple times. Yet people tell us that they feel they don’t know how to speak about their grief, or if what they are feeling is ‘normal’. ‘Death’ and ‘Grief’ seem to be one of the last taboos left in our society. And the impact of not speaking about grief, is that people are struggling to cope alone – not knowing who to turn to, to share their feelings.”

Sushma continued: “Over the past 3 years we have been working hard to grow our bereavement services to meet the needs of our communities; and help local people to connect with others to share their experience of grief and loss.”

“Our ‘Living with Grief’ talk is a way for us to reach out to our local community, to share our expertise as bereavement support specialists; and start vital, often difficult, conversations around grief within our communities. We plan to offer more of the sessions to the general public, across West Essex and East Herts, over the coming months.”

The ‘Living with Grief’ talk will take place on Thursday 8th December, 2pm – 4pm, Harlow Library, Cross Street, Harlow, CM20 1HA.

This free event is open to the public. Amanda Pelham, the St Clare Adult and Family Counsellor, will be speaking alongside the Hospice’s GriefLine Project Manager, Chloe Rich. The talk is open to anyone who has experienced the loss of a loved one, either recently or long ago, or to anyone simply wanting to find out more about grief, and how to support others.

The talk will aim to help you deepen your understanding of grief, and will cover: what to expect when you are grieving; looking after yourself and others; and what support is available.

The event is free to attend, and you do not need a prior connection to St Clare Hospice. There is no need to book.

For information on the ‘Living with Grief’ talk, phone 01279 773762, email bereavement@stclarehospice.org.uk or visit: https://stclarehospice.org.uk/living-with-grief-talk/

To find out where your nearest Bereavement Café is, visit: https://stclarehospice.org.uk/bereavement-cafe/
To find out more about GriefLine visit: https://griefline.co.uk/

Lead Photo caption: ‘Living with Grief’ free information session will be held at Harlow Library on 8 December 2022

St. Clare Hospice is a charity providing specialist palliative care for people living with terminal or life-limiting illnesses across West Essex and East Herts border.

We care for patients and their families, providing physical, emotional, social, psychological and spiritual support, and ensuring they have timely access to skilled, compassionate and sensitive care in a place of their choice.

Our services are free of charge to those who need our care, but cost around £5 million a year to run. With limited NHS funding we need to fundraise the majority of this each year through donations and other voluntary sources.

stclarehospice.org.uk /stclarehospice @hospicestclare @stclarehospice