Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update
Due to the current social distancing measures to help prevent the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19), our Bereavement Café events both at St Clare Hospice (CM17 9JX) and in the community have been cancelled until further notice. We apologise for any inconvenience.
To ensure that we can continue to support local people through bereavement during these difficult times, we have developed our Bereavement Café project to bring communities together, online. Please find out more about our Bereavement Café online communities below.
To read our latest updates and guidance on how we are responding to the Coronavirus outbreak, please visit stclarehospice.org.uk/coronavirus
The Bereavement Café Project…
In early 2019, a team of staff and volunteers from St Clare Hospice embarked on a new project with the aim to support local people who had been bereaved of someone that they knew, or were close to, by connecting individuals and communities together.
Here at St Clare, we feel that some of the most meaningful support you may experience when you have been bereaved, is through connecting with others who have had similar experiences – whether your loss was recent, or a long time ago.
The first Bereavement Café event launched at the Hospice in Hastingwood during February 2019. Over the next year, a number of other weekly and monthly Bereavement Café events started to take place regularly throughout the local community, with more events continuing to develop in response to local demand.
Our aim is to empower and support communities to set up their own Bereavement Café events, so that everyone in West Essex and East Herts has access to a space where they can meet others who understand.
In 2020, we continued to develop the project by launching Bereavement Café online communities, to facilitate a space where local people could connect in a ‘virtual’ capacity through Facebook and online video conferencing service, Zoom.
Death is a universal experience; and bereavement is something we all encounter throughout life. Each person experiences grief in their own way – and there is no right or wrong way to experience bereavement. Our aim is to continue responding to what local people want and require throughout bereavement, developing the Bereavement Café project to meet the needs of many so that nobody has to face their journey alone.
Join your local Bereavement Café online community
Our Bereavement Café online communities aim to connect local, bereaved people together via Facebook and online video conferencing service, Zoom.
The online communities provide a ‘virtual’ space for local people to engage with in a way that best suits your needs. Whether it’s meeting and talking to others, recommending supportive resources that you’ve found useful, sharing your own experiences or simply reading about what others have shared.
Bereavement Café online communities are open for people to engage with as much, or as little, as you would like – it’s OK to just be present.
Anyone who has experienced the loss of someone close to them, no matter how recent or long ago, is welcome to join a Bereavement Café online community. It is completely free to join.
Click on a link below to visit your local Bereavement Café online community:
- Bereavement Café – Hastingwood
- Bereavement Café – Harlow
- Bereavement Café – Epping Forest
- Bereavement Café – Uttlesford
- Bereavement Café – East Herts
- Youth Bereavement Café – For young people aged 18-30
Alternatively, visit the St Clare Hospice Facebook page (facebook.com/stclarehospice) to view our range of local Groups.
Our Bereavement Café Facebook groups are moderated by trained St Clare Hospice Bereavement Café Facilitator volunteers, who aim to encourage a supportive and welcoming space for all participants to benefit from.
Take part in a virtual Bereavement Café meeting via Zoom…
You can also connect with others in a Bereavement Café group video call, which we are hosting via Zoom with the support of a trained St Clare Facilitator. You can use your computer, smart phone or tablet to log in to Zoom – or you can call in via the telephone.
Our virtual Bereavement Café meetings are running on:
Every Tuesday – 10.30am – 11.30am
Every Wednesday – 7pm – 8pm
Every Thursday – 11am – 12 noon
- Every Thursday – 7pm – 8pm
Last Sunday of the month (Youth Bereavement Café) – 7pm – 8pm
If you’d like to put your name down to take part in these events, please fill in the form below and we will be in touch.
Youth Bereavement Café (YBC)
Our Youth Bereavement Café (YBC) offers a space for young and bereaved people (aged 18-30) to meet and connect with others who have had similar experiences to their own.
Due to Coronavirus (COVID-19), our Youth Bereavement Café is currently operating solely online, in our YBC Facebook group. However, when it is safe to do so, we have plans to launch the YBC at a venue in Harlow. Further details will be shared in due course.
Click here to visit and join the YBC Facebook group, where you can find more information about its : facebook.com/groups/youthbereavementcafe
Find your local Bereavement Café event
Our Bereavement Café events offer a ‘physical’ space to meet and connect with other local people who have had similar experiences to our own. It is a safe place to speak openly about our experiences, or simply just meet up for a cup of tea or coffee in the company of others who understand.
Anyone who has experienced the loss of someone close to them, no matter how recent or long ago, is welcome to attend a Bereavement Café event. It is completely free to attend, and you are welcome to ‘drop in’ at anytime throughout an event.
The atmosphere is very relaxed and informal, just like a real café, with hot drinks, refreshments and cakes! We would love to see you there.
Please note: Our Bereavement Café events have been cancelled until further notice, due to the pandemic. In the meantime, please feel free to join one of our Bereavement Café online communities (above), where you can meet and connect with other local people via Facebook, whilst staying up to date with our plans to re-open the events when it is safe to do so.
Epping Forest
Hastingwood (CANCELLED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE)
Where: St Clare Hospice, Hastingwood Road, Hastingwood, CM17 9JX
When: Weekly, every Friday
Time: 1.30pm – 3.30pm
Ongar (CANCELLED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE)
Where: St Martins Church, Chipping Ongar, CM5 9AT
When: Third Thursday of the month
Time: 1.30pm – 3.30pm
Abridge (CANCELLED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE)
Where: Abridge Village Hall, 39 Ongar Road, Abridge, RM4 1UH
When: First Monday of the month
Time: 10am – 12pm
Theydon Bois (CANCELLED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE)
Where: Theydon Bois Baptist Church, 2 Avenue Rd, Theydon Bois, Epping CM16 7JJ
When: First Saturday of the month
Time: 10am – 12pm
Uttlesford
Dunmow (CANCELLED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE)
Where: Old Park Meadow, Coppice Ln, North End, Dunmow, CM6 3PL
When: Last Wednesday of the month
Time: 10am – 12pm
Harlow District
Harlow (CANCELLED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE)
Where: Harlow Playhouse, Harlow, CM20 1LS
When: Last Friday of the month
Time: 10.30am – 12.30pm
Harlow (CANCELLED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE)
Where: Potter Street Baptist Church, 98 Potter St, CM17 9AW
When: Last Saturday of the month
Time: 10am – 12pm
Don’t see an event in your local area?
Why not set one up for people in your community? St Clare Hospice can provide guidance and support to assist you in setting up a Bereavement Café event in your local area – including a free, comprehensive and inspiring Bereavement Café Facilitator training programme, and promotion, to ensure your event is a success.
For more information, and if you have a question or would like to have an informal chat, please contact our Community Engagement Manager, Sally Muylders, on 01279 773709 or email sally.muylders@stclarehospice.org.uk
For general enquiries about our Bereavement Café project, please contact our Patient & Family Support team on 01279 773762 or email bereavement@stclarehospice.org.uk