Open every day (10 am - 4 pm and 7 -10 pm).
The line is always answered by a bereaved parent who is there to listen and support.
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Finding Meaning After Loss
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Online evening talk with Dr Sangeeta Mahajan
via Zoom
Wednesday 5 August, 7 - 8 pm
Join us to hear our inspiring speaker on the importance, possibility and ways of finding meaning after deep loss.
After the sudden loss of her beautiful son and only child to suicide, Sangeeta lost all sense of self. Nothing made sense in this world of the ‘After’ she had been unwillingly pushed into. Nothing carried any value. Not even her own life.
Despite being a doctor, she had no clue how to carry on until she found purpose. That was the key to her survival despite the darkness of her grief.
Nearly 6 years on, she shares her big challenges and little victories on this rocky road.
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Specialist Online Support Groups
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‘Thank you so much. I found the group last night so helpful and compassionate I am so glad I found TCF early after losing my daughter. With not being able to visit groups during lockdown the session helped so much" (bereaved parent)
This was my second virtual meeting and again I found the session very rewarding. There is nothing like talking to dads in the same position and the support and openness is amazing. I hope these will become a regular event even after lockdown as it a unique opportunity to talk to other fathers. (bereaved dadt)
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Huge thanks to our volunteer facilitators who since May have helped us run over 21 specialist support groups and will run a further 7 during the next few weeks.
Although many of the groups fill up quickly, we try to give priority to those who have not attended before.
Upcoming groups include:
*childless parents * bereaved by cancer or long term illness * bereaved men * bereaved of a school age child * siblings 18 years+ *bereaved by suicide * bereaved by substance use * bereaved of an older son or daughter (30 years+)
‘The group was absolutely fantastic and reassuring to hear from people in such similar circumstances. I will definitely be back for more groups.’ (bereaved sibling)
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A note on in-person support groups...
For the moment, our in-person groups cannot run due to government restrictions. Although some local groups are beginning to meet outside observing social distance, we appreciate that some of our volunteers or group members may be in the vulnerable category and/or shielding and will therefore make individual decisions on meeting in groups. Please bear with us if your local group is not meeting currently - our priority and that of our volunteer facilitators is to keep everyone safe.
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New 'your loss' pages on our website
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Bereaved by Road Traffic Incident
Information for those parents whose son or daughter died on the roads.
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The Sudden Death of Our Child
Information for those parents whose son or daughter died suddenly.
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New and updated supportive leaflets
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All our leaflets are free to download for bereaved parents and their families.
View them here.
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TCF USA announces first virtual conference
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31 July - 2 August 2020
Book before 17 July for early bird discount
Over 80 workshop choices * Keynote presentations * Sharing circles * Evening performance
* Candle Lighting Ceremony* And more!
The conference focuses on specific support for bereaved parents, siblings, and grandparents while also offering overall grief support and resources.
Please note this conference may not be suitable for those in early bereavement.
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Could you volunteer as...
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...a support group facilitator?
Why not come along and find out more at our ONLINE Training and Information event running over two Saturday mornings - 25 July and 1 August 2020.
If you think you would like to volunteer to run/co-run a group - a safe, supportive, inclusive and compassionate place - where parents can share with others their grief, strategies for surviving and ways of finding some sort of hope again - then please get in touch. We offer a friendly, practical training event over two mornings with lots of ideas and tips for running a peer support group.
Those of you already running a TCF group may find this online training helpful as a refresher.
To join us you should be a bereaved parent and we recommend you are at least 2 years past your bereavement. Facilitating a support group can a really rewarding volunteering role -
find out more information here.
More info or to reserve a place by
emailing
or phone 0345 120 3785 (please leave a message and we will get back to you).
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...a grief companion?
Reaching out to support other newly bereaved parents?
As a grief companion you would be helping a more recently bereaved parent by providing informal support and friendship to them in the early months following the death of their child. This can be such an important way for parents to access peer support and particularly so where there is no face-to-face local support or group in their area.
You may also find that this is a lovely way to honour the memory of your own child, by providing comfort to others. It can be a way to acknowledge the skills and experience you have developed through your grief and help support you in your own journey through loss.
TCF's grief companion scheme began as a pilot project. Many matches have now been made with parents benefiting greatly from this one-to-one, peer support. We are looking for bereaved parents who are at least 3/4 years on from their own bereavement and who are feeling more ‘resilient’ around their loss.
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...a supporter for bereaved parents who cared for a child with disabilities or special needs?
A
re you bereaved of a son or daughter who had special needs or disabilities? Could you offer support, understanding and hope to others who have suffered the loss of child in this way?
We are looking for volunteers, who have been bereaved more than 3+ years, based anywhere in the UK to offer initial peer support and understanding to parents whose child with special needs or disabilities has died. This may involve taking calls and answering emails from newly bereaved parents referred to you via our Helpline, as well as helping these parents to access TCF’s range of other support.
We hope to form a small support team of at least 3 volunteers to enable support across the UK and so that you as team members will feel supported too.
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...online webchat supporter?
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After a successful pilot, we are looking for volunteers able to commit to one evening a month to offer support via our webchat messaging service.
i
f you are * more than 2 years past your loss * emotionally resilient so you can support others * an empathic, compassionate listener * non-judgmental, respectful of others’ attitudes and beliefs * trustworthy and reliable * computer literate with an ability to type at good speed and can convey empathy and compassion in words ... please get in touch with us in July/August at
helpline@tcf.org.uk
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We need your support...now more than ever
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Right now our charity's income from challenge events - running, walking, cycling and swimming - has dropped off by around 70% this year due to coronavirus. Like all charities we are also experiencing a drop in individual donations and other fundraising activities as economic uncertainty continues. So, please, if you are able to support us by organising or going to a fundraiser (like our virtual Quiz below), buying online or making a one-off or regular donation to our work with bereaved parents and their families we would be so very grateful. Funding is needed for our Helpline, our new specialist groups, weekend retreats when we are able to re-start them, as well as supporting our wonderful volunteer team. Thank you so much.
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Back by popular demand...
Virtually The Best Quiz Ever (Almost)
Friday 31 July, 8 pm
Bring together your family and friends to play this fun online quiz...with quiz master extraordinaire, Stephen AND help us to raise vital funds for our support and services for bereaved families. Just £12 per household and all proceeds go to support our charity.
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Don't forget...shop online and support TCF
Shop at
AmazonSmile
- it's exactly the same as shopping at Amazon with all their usual books and products - and supports TCF at no cost to you.
T, bereaved parent wrote to us: last month
“I am so pleased to have received an e-mail from Amazon re my Amazonsmile account to see so far this year they have donated over £416 to The Compassionate Friends UK, thank you for all your hard work at TCF.”
Sign up to
easyfundraising.com
and donate every time you shop at over 4000 online stores - it costs you nothing.
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Our regular publications - now in flipping book format
Now you can read all our magazines for bereaved parents and families on our website in a digital book format.
T
o receive these newsletters and magazines regularly
JOIN TCF
as a member.
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For more information on support and services for bereaved parents, siblings and grandparents see our website at the buttons below.
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