Bereavement Support South Worcestershire (BSSW) provides emotional support to people who have experienced the death of someone close to them.
Bereavement is one of the most painful experiences we have to deal with during our life and your emotions may feel almost unbearable at the moment.
Our skilled BSSW team can help you explore your feelings in a safe and confidential environment. While it may feel daunting to reach out for help, we are here to listen, to help you understand your emotions and navigate your grief.
How can BSSW help?
Grief affects everyone differently. We offer group support for any type of bereavement, but we often work with people who have experienced the traumatic or unexpected death of a loved one.
- BSSW services are available to anyone registered with a South Worcestershire GP
- Support is offered through bereavement group sessions for adults, children, young people, and their families. These take place in the welcoming surroundings of St Richard’s in Worcester. Click to view our virtual tour.
- Practical advice and signposting to further support is also available
BSSW is run by St Richard’s Hospice. If the person who died was a patient of St Richard’s, you may be able to access other support from the hospice’s Family Support Team. Click for information on St Richard’s Family Support Services.
Click to view examples of support groups
- Sunflower Group – therapeutic bereavement group for adults
- Steps Group – peer support bereavement group for adults
- RAFFT Group – therapeutic bereavement group for people bereaved by suicide
- Seeking Safety Through Grief – complex trauma bereavement group for adults
- Dragonfly Group – therapeutic bereavement group for children and families
- Teenage Group – peer support group for teenagers who are bereaved or whose loved one is unwell
- Memory Days – one off events for bereaved children and families to remember their loved one
- Inside Out Group – therapeutic bereavement group for children and families bereaved by suicide
How can I access BSSW support?
Support for adults
If you are over 18, you can refer yourself for support from BSSW using the details below. Or, your GP or other professional can refer on your behalf.
For grieving adults, we can offer support between three months and three years following a bereavement.
If you are within the first three months of your bereavement, you can access our supportive Self Care Through Bereavement webinar. This provides useful advice on the grieving process and supportive ways of coping.
Support for people aged under 18
For people aged under 18, referrals can be made at any stage following their bereavement. Referrals can be made by a parent or guardian, or professional.
How to make a referral
For information on our referral process, please visit the how to make a referral page of our website.
Or, call us on our Family Support and Bereavement Referral Line, 01905 763963, between 10am and 2pm, Monday to Thursday.
Click to view BSSW referral criteria
We are:
- unlikely to support individuals who are actively suicidal, self-harming, or at high risk
- unlikely to be able to offer support if another external agency is providing therapeutic support, such as mental health
- unlikely to support if clients are actively using substances to cope/manage. This needs to be under control and well-managed before we can accept the referral
- St Richard’s Hospice and Bereavement Support South Worcestershire are unlikely to offer urgent pre and post-bereavement support
- If we are not able to offer support we will signpost individuals to other services so they can access the right support at the right time
We will:
- consider each individual. If it is determined that an individual does not meet the criteria for our service we will we will look at alternative options including signposting, and may on occasion offer a brief intervention if appropriate
- signpost individuals and health professionals to specialist services, both local and national
- Offer training in pre-and-post bereavement support for external staff by the St Richard’s Learning Team
Other support services in Worcestershire
Worcester
| The Bridge Counselling Service | A team of trained counsellors with a broad range of life experiences and backgrounds who can provide counselling using different models and approaches. 01905 731850 The Angel Centre, 1 Angel Place, Worcester WR1 3QN Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm www.b-c-w.org.uk |
| Worcester Therapy Group | 01905 20707 Barbourne Health Centre, 44 Droitwich Road, Worcester WR3 7LH |
| Age UK Befriending for the Bereaved. | Call Age UK Worcester & District 01905 724294 Bank House, 7 Shaw St, Worcester WR1 3QQ |
| The Cedar Tree | Offering free and confidential support with pregnancy choices and pregnancy loss Tel: 01905 616166 Tel or text: 07896 619564 The Angel Centre, 1 Angel Place, Worcester, WR1 3QN |
| Bereavement Café Warndon | The café takes place at Lyppard Hub, Warndon, Worcester, on second Friday of each month 10.30am to 12pm. 01905 616841 www.lyppardhub.co.uk/bereavement-cafe |
| Cruse | Bereavement counselling and support Monthly bereavement support group for people bereaved through suicide 01905 22223 07508 853359 www.cruse.org.uk |
| 2wish | Bereavement through the death of a young person aged 25 and under. Support is offered to both adults and children. 2wish.org.uk/get-support |
| Footsteps | Footsteps is a registered charity providing support for bereaved children, young people and their families in Worcestershire. 0845 467 6065 talktofootsteps.co.uk |
| Victim Support bereavement by suicide – Worcester | 01905 947933 www.victimsupport.org.uk/bereaved-by-suicide-service/ |
| Gill Stanton – Suicide Liaison Worker for Victim Support | |
| WRH Neonatal/Baby Death | Bereavement Midwife Stephanie Beddal 01905 763333 x 30583 |
| Worcestershire Royal Hospital Bereavement Office | 01905 760762 |
| Onside Advocacy Community Mental Health Transformation | Community Mental Health Transformation www.onside-advocacy.org.uk/CMHT Onside have Community Mental Health Link Workers who work within the neighbourhood mental health teams across most of the county and can provide a range of support designed to address the wider social and practical needs of people living with mental ill health. www.hacw.nhs.uk/neighbourhood-mental-health Adult and children support |
| Worcestershire NHS Crisis mental health | Urgent mental health helpline 01905 681915 |
| Worcestershire Healthy Minds | Self-referral: 0300 302 1313 Worcester and Droitwich area 01905 681749 or 01905 681743 The Wulstan Unit, Worcester, WR5 1JG www.hacw.nhs.uk/about-healthy-minds |
| Worcester Safeguarding Children | 01905 822666 Out of hours: 01905 768020 |
| Worcester Safeguarding Adults | 01905 843189 Out of hours: 01905 768020 |
| West Mercia Womens Aid | 0800 980 3331 |
| West Mercia Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre | www.wmrsasc.org.uk 01905 724514 |
Droitwich area
| Droitwich Bereavement Café | Takes place on the second Tuesday of the month between 10am and 12pm at Rotary House, Corbett Avenue, Droitwich. A seven-week bereavement journey course is also available. 07772 927535 |
| Worcestershire Healthy Minds | Self-referral call: 0300 302 1313 Worcester and Droitwich area 01905 681749 or 01905 681743 The Wulstan Unit, Worcester, WR5 1JG www.hacw.nhs.uk/about-healthy-minds |
Malvern area
| Side by Side Bereavement Support Group Coffee Mornings | Meet Mondays 11am to 12.30pm at Railway Inn, 78 Malvern Wells Road, Malvern, WR14 4PA 01684 576582 |
| Worcestershire Healthy Minds | Self-referral call: 0300 302 1313 Malvern, Evesham and Pershore area 01684 612 657 www.hacw.nhs.uk/about-healthy-minds |
Bromsgrove and Redditch areas
| North Worcestershire Bereavement Support | 07305 238223 www.nwbsupport.org.uk |
| Primrose Hospice (Redditch and Bromsgrove areas) | Bereavement support helpline: 01562 889799 www.primrosehospice.org |
| Safe Haven | Support for Worcestershire residents who are experiencing a mental health crisis. This service runs seven days a week 6pm to 1am and is based in Redditch town centre. 01905 600400 swwmind.org.uk/our-services/worcestershire-safe-haven |
| Touchstones | Touchstones is there for any bereaved child and young person in north east Worcestershire including in the Redditch, Bromsgrove, Wythall, Rubery, Hagley areas. touchstones-support.org.uk 07547 367267 |
Wyre Forest area
| Kemp Hospice | Bereavement support helpline: 01562 756 060 |
Evesham area
| Jecca’s Bereavement Café | People local to Chipping Camden and the surrounding villages can come along to this bereavement café at Jecca’s House, Chipping Camden, on the second Monday of every month between 2pm and 3.30pm. 01386 840505 www.campdenhomenursing.org/what-we-provide/bereavement-counselling-services/bereavement-support-group |
| Evesham Bereavement Café | Takes place on the fourth Tuesday of each month between 10am and 12pm at Wallace House, Oak Street, Evesham. 07776 827112 |
| Worcestershire Healthy Minds | Self-referral call: 0300 302 1313 Malvern, Evesham and Pershore area 01684 612 657 www.hacw.nhs.uk/about-healthy-minds |
| Campden Nursing | Support for adults and children in the Evesham, Pershore, Tewkesbury and Broadway areas. www.campdenhomenursing.org/what-we-provide/bereavement-counselling-services/bereavement-counselling |
Herefordshire
| Hope Support | Local support – face to face National support – virtual Supports young people who have a parent with a serious illness, based in Herefordshire. https://hopesupport.org.uk/ |