St Leonard’s Hospice Support Service help with grief in York

The Bereavement Support Team at St Leonard’s Hospice is on hand to support people dealing with grief and help them cope and navigate through this difficult period.

Not only do they offer free bereavement support to friends and families of people who have links to the hospice service, but to others also. The service is available to any adult from the community, whether connected to the Hospice, or not and there is no charge for this support.

Many people don’t know this service exists and Jonathan Taylor was one of them. Five years’ ago, his wife, Ros, died in the hospice at the age of 68, after having Motor Neurone Disease. It was only then that he found out about the bereavement drop-ins at the hospice.

“I went once a fortnight and made some really good friends. In fact, three of us still meet every Friday afternoon. It proves the power of support from people who are going on the same journey as you.”

Jonathan Taylor received bereavement support at St Leonard’s and is now a trained bereavement support worker at the hospice (Image: Supplied)

A special bereavement support drop in group is held at the Tadcaster Road Hospice on the first Tuesday afternoon of each month and Jonathan now works there as a specially trained volunteer, helping others by offering support.

The Hospice runs a professional training programme for volunteers to become bereavement support workers, which Jonathan has now completed.

“I feel useful again,” he said. “The hospice has given us such a massive support, prior to Ros dying and after. When I listen to people, I can empathise with the journey they are on. If it is your partner who has died, it can feel overwhelming and we are trained to listen as each person feels completely different.”

As well as the monthly bereavement drop-in events on Tuesday afternoons, St Leonard’s offers specialist bereavement support on an individual basis. It is now looking to expand the drop-in service.

Jenny Latchford, Bereavement Coordinator at St Leonard’s Hospice, said: “We relaunched the bereavement drop-in sessions in August as we knew lots of people were experiencing grief. The numbers of people coming has steadily increased an from the New Year the drop-in support group will meet every two weeks.

“Our volunteer Bereavement Support Worker team is also expanding and we have recently trained ten new volunteers into this specialist role. We anticipate that more volunteers will be needed in the future, as we reach out to bereaved people in our community.”

Julie Dale, Head of Community Services at St Leonard’s said: “We know Christmas can be a particularly emotional time for people who are grieving. Whilst many people come through grief with the help of family and friends, for some people, extra support can be helpful.

“In 2023 our Bereavement Team delivered more than 100 bereavement support sessions and the number of people we see is currently doubling every month. We have been alongside many people rebuilding lives. Everyone is different and there are no rules to grief but if you think you might want our support, please get in touch - we are here for you.”

The team is available on 01904 777 760 from 8am-4pm Monday to Friday to self-refer for ongoing, planned, bereavement support with a dedicated member of the team.