Bereavement support services
Winston’s Wish provides advice, guidance and bereavement support to children, young people, families and professionals.
Bereavement support for children and young people
Our specialist team provides emotional and practical bereavement support services to children and young people up to the age of 25, their families and those who care for them.
Our expert teams are on hand to offer advice, guidance and bereavement support on a one-off or ongoing basis, depending on your needs. We can answer specific questions on talking to children about a bereavement, provide information and resources to help you support a grieving child and help to identify when you might need our one-to-one or family grief support. We also run online peer support groups and drop-in sessions. Below you can find more information on our Freephone Helpline and Bereavement Support Services.
Freephone Helpline
Our Helpline team are experienced and trained bereavement professionals. They can offer advice, guidance and support to grieving young people and families and professionals supporting a bereaved child or young person. From one-off questions, such as ‘how do I tell my child their daddy has died?’ to more in-depth support, we are here to listen, provide information, discuss options and help you work out how best to support a grieving child.
We are here to support and speak to grieving young people, as well as parents, grandparents, step-parents, carers, aunts, uncles, friends, teachers, health visitors, faith leaders, doctors… anyone who is supporting a bereaved child or young person.
08088 020 021
Call us between 8am-8pm, weekdays. Calls are free and confidential.
ask@winstonswish.org
Email us or fill out the contact form here, we’ll aim to reply within two working days.
Live chat
Chat with us between 3-8pm, weekdays, by clicking the blue ‘Chat with us’ button at the bottom of your screen.
Bereavement Support Services
Bereavement is a natural experience and most families are able to work through their grief. However, there may be occasions when you might need more specialist support to help you answer difficult questions or cope with difficult behaviour. Our team of specialists are able to provide two types of bereavement support services. We can either work with parents to help them support their children or offer support directly to the grieving children and young people.
Please call 08088 020 021 or email ask@winstonswish.org and our Helpline team will talk with you to help to identify what support your family needs.
Grief Support Groups for parents and carers
Caring for a grieving child or young person can be tricky. What should you say? What shouldn’t you say? How can you support them as well as yourself? Join other parents and carers to talk, share feelings and connect with one another and our online peer support groups.
Live grief talks
What is grief? Is there a right way to grieve? Grief is complex, it’s complicated and it’s messy. Our ‘Growing with grief: Guide to an undiscussed topic’ live talks are an online information session led by our bereavement support workers. We run live grief talks for grieving young people aged 16-25 years old and for parents, professionals and any other adults supporting grieving children and young people.
Walk and Talk for grieving families
Would you like to meet other grieving families face-to-face? Join us for a free, informal meet up for bereaved young people and families in Bristol. Get together in-person, share advice and stories and spend time with others who have had similar experiences of grief.
Crisis Messenger
If you are a bereaved young person experiencing a crisis, the Winston’s Wish Crisis Messenger text service offers free, 24/7, anonymous crisis support across the UK. We know that finding the right support is important, especially if you need someone to talk to right now.
Text WW to 85258
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