Get bereavement support

What bereavement support do we offer children and young people before, during and after a bereavement?

Winston’s Wish is a charity that helps children, teenagers and young adults (up to the age of 25) find their feet when their worlds are turned upside down by grief. Through information about grief, on-demand helpline, email and live chat services, bereavement support and counselling, we support young people to understand their feelings, process their grief and find ways to move forward with hope for a brighter future.

We also help the adults who are caring for young grieving people, including parents, school staff and healthcare professionals, through information, resources, training and on-demand services.

Support for young people

Information about grief, including professional advice from our team and real life stories from other grieving young people, plus our on-demand services, bereavement support and counselling.

Support for parents and carers

Information and advice for parents and carers, including content on grief, activities, live talks, peer support groups and on-demand services, plus how to refer a child for bereavement support and counselling.

Support for professionals

Information and advice for professionals working with grieving children and young people, including free resources, training and on-demand services, plus how to refer a child for bereavement support and counselling.

Support for schools

Information and advice for teachers and school staff, including free resources, PSHE lesson templates, training and on-demand services, plus how to refer a child for bereavement support and counselling.

Information and advice

Advice and resources for adults supporting grieving children and young people, including on bereavement by suicide, homicide and serious illness and for children with SEND.

Publications and resources

Specialist books written by Winston’s Wish to help you support grieving children and young people, plus memory boxes to store treasured items and free activities to download.

Grief in Common podcast

Listen to young people from different backgrounds and experiences have honest conversations about their grief and their feelings.

Adults bereaved as children

Information for adults who were bereaved as a child and are struggling with their grief, including our peer support Facebook group.

Useful links

A list of other organisations and services that can help families after the death of an important person.

On-demand support services

Whether you are a grieving young person who wants to talk to someone or a parent, carer or professional looking for guidance, you can reach out to our bereavement team using one of our confidential on-demand services.

Nothing is off limits. We’ll listen without judgement and you can chat to us anonymously if you’d prefer.

Whether it’s a one-off or a conversation you need to come back to, you can reach us on the different ways listed below.

If you need to speak to us in a language other than English, we can use interpreters over the phone, and we can use the Relay UK app if you have hearing or speech difficulties.

Call us for free on 08088 020 021 between 8am-8pm, weekdays.

Email us on ask@winstonswish.org or fill out our contact form and we’ll reply within two working days.

Chat online between 8am-8pm, weekdays by clicking the blue ‘Chat with us’ button at the bottom right of your screen.

For urgent support, text WW to 85258 to speak with someone from our trusted partner, Shout.

Winston’s Wish helped both me and my daughter get an understanding of how each other felt because I didn’t have a clue what she would be going through. At first, she was so emotional, very sensitive and now she’s got so much more of an understanding and it’s nice to see that from all of the help we got, her confidence is soaring.

Terri-Anne, Parent

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