Bereavement Support

The care of St Catherine’s doesn’t stop when someone dies – we’re here to support their loved ones through bereavement, and to provide opportunities for our community to come together to remember and reflect.

Bereavement support is offered through all of our community and hospice-based teams and involves various people including doctors, nurses, social workers, volunteer chaplains and counsellors.

It’s important to remember that there is no set timescale for grief and everyone’s experience is different. Our Support Team therefore provides a number of different ways to help, working either on a one-to-one basis or in a group, and support is available for weeks, months and years after the person’s death.

• Please scroll down for details about our monthly Bereavement Support Drop-In sessions, which are open to everyone, even if you don’t already have a connection to St Catherine’s. 

Click here to see a range of helpful resources about bereavement support and advice from St Catherine’s Hospice and other trusted sources.

Remembrance and reflection

We want our community to feel welcome to visit the hospice grounds of St Catherine’s Park at any time, particularly as a place where family and friends can come to remember their loved ones. There is also a dedicated tributes section on our website where people can honour the memory of someone special by writing messages and sharing photographs. Please click here if you would like to create a tribute page in someone’s memory. 

We also organise a number of events throughout the year which for people to join together in remembrance and reflection. We hope this helps people feel less alone in their loss, whilst also doing something positive to support St Catherine’s. Our remembrance occasions include:

•  Light Up A Life each December – when the festive lights around St Catherine’s Park shine in tribute of the special people who are being remembered at Christmas time
•  Yellow Ribbon Dedications each June – when yellow ribbons are tied around the hospice gardens in honour of loved ones
•  The Moonlight and Memories Walk each June/July – when supporters stride out under the stars, sharing stories and raising vital sponsorship for St Catherine’s with every step.