Free support groups for people bereaved by suicide set up by Samaritans and Cruse Bereavement Care have been running in Brighton and Hove since October 2016.
Facing the Future groups – each with a maximum of eight participants – are free of charge and available to anyone over 18 who has been bereaved by suicide.
Each group session lasts for 90 minutes and runs once a week over six consecutive weeks. The bereavement does not have to have been recent, although the service is designed for people bereaved for more than 3 months.
The groups are jointly led by experienced Samaritans and Cruse volunteers who have received specialist training in helping those bereaved by suicide.
Two groups have already taken place and three more are planned for this year. The next one is due to start on Tuesday 25th April at 6.30pm in a central Brighton location.
Feedback from the Evaluation of Facing the Future Summary Report, commissioned by the Department of Health, has been very encouraging:
“It has helped me to stop feeling responsible for what happened, and to understand that it is not unusual to feel that way.”
“It gave me a space where I could process my thoughts and what had happened.”
“It has helped to speed up the healing process, I’m in a better place now than when I started”
If you’re interested in attending a group, click here: to register or call 0208 939 9560.
It’s really straightforward and you are very welcome to attend even if you’re already receiving other forms of support. Within two working days of registering you’ll get a call and receive all the information you require, including what to expect and when groups are expected to start so you can plan them around your other commitments.
You must have been bereaved by suicide for more than three months when the group starts. Earlier than that people may still be experiencing a high level of shock and could find it difficult to share their feelings.
The groups are open to anyone bereaved by suicide no matter how long ago.
Samaritans is available round the clock, every day of the year. They provide a safe place for anyone struggling to cope, whoever they are, however they feel, whatever life has done to them.
If you need help call free phone number 116 123 (UK) or 1850 60 90 90 (ROI), email: jo@samaritans.org, or visit samaritans.org/branches to find details of the nearest branch.
Cruse Bereavement Care is the leading national charity for bereaved people in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, offering support, advice and information to children, young people and adults when someone dies and work to enhance society’s care of bereaved people. To contact them call 08444 77 94 00, email helpline@cruse.org.uk or visit www.cruse.org.uk
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