Supporting Parents Bereaved by Suicide

Aim

Provide peer support from parents who have lost a child to suicide to parents more recently bereaved by suicide of a beloved son or daughter

The death of a child is always shattering, but suicide is a particularly cruel form of death for the surviving family and friends who are often left not knowing why. Even if a note has been found which attempts to explain this drastic action, many people feel guilt and regularly go over what could have been done to prevent the tragedy. For families of children who have died from suicide, there may be the additional stress of coping with the police, a postmortem, an inquest, the media and reactions of others. Unfortunately, suicide is still viewed unsympathetically by people who may make thoughtless and wounding comments about the selfishness of taking one’s own life. However, via TCF, many bereaved parents have found help, support and comfort from knowing that others are able to share their unique pain and grief. There can be relief in knowing that others understand immediately 'how it feels' and feelings of isolation, guilt and stigma are shared and lessened. TCF is the UK's only national charity providing peer support from bereaved parents to more recently bereaved parents after the death from any cause of a beloved son or daughter of any age. We provide our 200+ volunteers who provide our range of services with ongoing training on supporting parents bereaved by suicide and bereaved parents who express suicidal thoughts.  Peer support allows around 620 x parents bereaved by suicide each year to find the friendship, empathy, support and hope that only other parents bereaved by suicide can give, including dealing with stigma encountered.

This project successfully funded on 16th June 2021