The Compassionate Friends

The Compassionate Friends is a charitable organisation of bereaved parents, siblings and grandparents dedicated to the support and care of other similarly bereaved family members who have suffered the death of a child or children of any age and from any cause. Many parents bereaved by suicide have found help, support and comfort from knowing that others are able to share their unique pain and grief.

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Our work in suicide prevention

The Compassionate Friends (TCF) holds over 80 support groups throughout the UK for parents bereaved of a son or daughter from any cause, including suicide. We also hold specialist groups for those parents bereaved by suicide in London, Bristol, Cambridge and Glasgow.

In all the groups, parents meet in a safe space to share in confidence their thoughts and to support each other through their grief. An annual retreat weekend is held for parents bereaved by suicide. Our sibling support group online includes many bereaved brothers and sisters affected by the suicide of their sibling.

We have recently updated our own policy and procedures for TCF volunteers on supporting bereaved parents who express suicidal thoughts or actions.

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Our current priorities

Our current priorities focus on expanding and enhancing support for families bereaved by suicide. This includes increasing the number of support groups across the UK and offering more specialist retreat weekends for parents and siblings.

We are introducing a ‘grief companion’ scheme to connect newly bereaved parents with those further along in their grief journey, providing support and friendship. We are working to increase support for bereaved siblings over 18 years, addressing the significant gap in services available for this age group.

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Our current challenges

There are still gaps in bereavement support for parents and bereaved siblings, so recruiting, training and supporting volunteers continues to be a priority for us. Demand for support from bereaved parents and their families currently outstrips supply. It can also be challenging on a limited budget to find ways to spread the word that we offer support and understanding to bereaved parents. Funding is always a constant challenge and we welcome support for our unique peer-to-peer services.

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