Bereavement and Funeral links

Good Funeral Guide – good advice on funeral planning

Charles Cowling author of the highly recommended Good Funeral Guide (which is signposted on our books page) and has an excellent website concerning what you need to know and do, to give a loved one the right funeral, including:
  • decide how the body of your dead person will be cared for by whom
  • make informed choices about products and services
  • get best value for money
  • read reviews of best funeral directors
  • create a meaningful and memorable funeral ceremony
  • create an end-of-life plan
  • acquire some background information about death and dying, and find out where to learn more.

Bereavement advice

Bereavement Advice Centre is a free helpline and web-based information service provided by Independent Trust Corporation. They give practical information and advice on the many issues and procedures that face us after the death of someone close.

They welcome calls from the bereaved and the professionals and volunteers who support them. Bereavement Advice Centre helps many people every day and aims to give straightforward, useful advice when you need it.
Tel: 0800 634 9494

The Compassionate Friends

An organisation of bereaved parents and siblings offering support, understanding and comfort to others similarly bereaved after the death of a child, of any age, from any cause.  The charity offers a national helpline, staffed by bereaved parent volunteers, a website, online community forum, local one-to-one and group support, retreats and supportive weekends, publications and leaflets.
Helpline: 0845 123 2304 (daily from 10am to 4pm and 7pm to 10pm)
Email: helpline@tcf.org.uk
Cruse Bereavement Care
Offers one-to-one bereavement counselling for any bereaved person, 14 yrs old or over, who needs support after a loss. The service is free but they are grateful for donations.
Day by Day Helpline: 0870 167 1677

Cruse young persons helpline
Bereavement support for young people aged 12 to 18, provided by trained volunteers aged under 25.
Tel: 0808 808 1677 (9.30am-5.00pm Mondays to Fridays).
Email: helpline@crusebereavementcare.org.uk
>

Childline

Provides advice for children and young people on coping with their emotions during a bereavement. Helpline: 0800 11 11

SANDS (Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Society)

Support for parents and families whose baby is stillborn or dies soon after birth.
28 Portland Place
London
Helpline: 020 7436 5881
>
Child Death Helpline
Helpline for affected by a death of any age, however long ago.
Tel: 0800 282986

RoadPeace
Information and support, including legal advice, for relatives of people who have died in a road accident, or for those who have been injured.
Tel: 0845 4500 355 (9.00am-9.00pm 7 days a week).
>
Survivors Of Bereavement by Suicide (SOBS)
A safe, confidential environment in which survivors of suicide bereavement may share and work through their pain.
Helpline: 0870 241 3337,
Twins And Multiple Births Association Bereavement Support Group (Tamba BSG)
Befriending and support group for parents and families who have lost either one or both twins.
Tel: 0800 138 0509 (Weekdays 7pm – 10pm, Weekends 10am-1pm and 7pm – 10pm).

Funeral Services Guide – For One-Stop Independent Bereavement Advice
Funeral Services One-stop Guide to finding quality service providers, independent advice on prepaid plans, putting affairs in order and bereavement issues.

Counselling Ddirectory.org.uk provides counselling support network, enabling those in distress to find a counsellor close to them and appropriate for their needs. This is a free, confidential service that will hopefully encourage those in distress to seek help.

Grief Recovery.co.uk Carole Batchelor – Certified Grief Recovery Specialist

Once the funeral is over many people feel lost – what next? Unlike therapy where people are told to go away for months before they can start to heal Grief Recovery can start immediately. It is an action plan to help you move beyond loss and can be effective immediately after a loss or many decades later.    01234 862218

From the US Death for Beginners Your No-Nonsense, Money-Saving Guide to Planning for the Inevitable
Death for beginners

The British Government has a good site called the Money Advice Service that gives you lots of helpful information about the finance of someone who has died. They also have a service called ‘Tell us Once’ that will notify all the government departments about the death of your loved one which we think is good joined-up thinking.

Scattering Ashes is a fan of the following related funeral sites:

My Last Song

Because a good life deserves a good ending and to be remembered properly. My Last Song features a Lifebox to store the important details of your life; advice on farewell music; and advice on end of life issues.

  • To store the information required by your close family and executor when you die, or in the final stages of an illness. Digital convenience!
  • To store your personal details, life story, photographs, secrets, achievements, family and friends so future generations have an accurate insight into your life and times. Digital immortality!

 

For a huge array of  bereavement and condolences messages can be found here: Sympathy Message Ideas

Another good choice – Wise old sayings – grief support

Based in Totnes in Devon the Green Funeral Company to offer an ecological alternative to traditional funerals – they are in the Good Funeral Guide too!

For direct cremation services from a lovely company in the London M25 area we recommend – Poppy’s funerals  – also in the Good Funeral Guide.

For a wonderful celebrant operating in the Midlands region – Marc Oxley Secular funerals

Blue Sky Goodbye – sky dive and scattering in the US www.blueskygoodbye.com

Scroll to top