Where we’re located:
Find a Local Bereavement Peer Support Group
There are many local bereavement support groups. We hope that this list helps you make a start to find the support that is right for you.
If you know of a support group that isn’t listed here and you would like to add the information please email [email protected]
Full Circle Funerals
Our peer support group is open to anyone who would like to attend, whether you have used our funeral care services or not.
This group is peer-led and is not a space for 1:1 or group bereavement counselling. There are no bereavement counsellors present and if you are uncertain whether this is the right space for you then please get in touch to have a chat with Ruth.
If you would like to join the meeting or would just like some more information, please contact Ruth on [email protected]
Sue Ryder
Sue Ryder host weekly Grief Kind drop-in sessions, the ones local to us are listed below, however you can click here to find others
Leeds Rhinos
Tuesday every week from 2.30pm to 4.30 pm – any person aged 18yrs and over welcome to drop in and join us , no need to book , simply walk in for a chat and support, includes free refreshments and free parking available.
Headingley Stadium , Community Hub Room located on 1st Floor of the South Stand , St Michaels Lane, Headingley , Leeds , LS6 3BR
Free on site parking , access via Car Park E , a direct link to Car Park E is here – https://maps.app.goo.gl/mEApnaquZpwCcNjG9.
Contact details – Sue Ryder Grief Kind Spaces Area Coordinator [email protected]
Village Hotel Leeds North
Monday every week from 10am to 12 noon – any person aged 18yrs and over welcome to drop in and join us , no need to book , simply walk in for a chat and support , includes free refreshments and free parking available.
Village Hotel Leeds North, 186 Otley Rd, Headingley, Leeds, LS16 5PR.
The group meeting point is in the Restaurant & Grill area from the main entrance on arrival at reception turn left and head towards the restaurant to find the group meeting area.
Contact details – Sue Ryder Grief Kind Spaces Area Coordinator [email protected]
Leeds United Football Club
Opening from Thursday 8th August will run every Thursday from 10am – 12 noon – any person aged 18yrs and over welcome to drop in and join us , no need to book , simply walk in for a chat and support includes free refreshments and free parking available.
Leeds United Football Stadium , Elland Road, Leeds, LS11 0ES
Contact details – Sue Ryder Grief Kind Spaces Area Coordinator [email protected]
The Old Courthouse in Thirsk
Opening from Thursday 25th th July 2024 and will run every Thursday from 2.00pm to 4.00pm – any person aged 18yrs and over welcome to drop in and join us , no need to book , simply walk in for a chat and support , including free refreshments available.
The Old Courthouse , 4 Westgate, Thirsk , YO7 1QS
Contact details – Sue Ryder Grief Kind Spaces Area Coordinator [email protected]
MND Association
MND Cornflower Group – supporting past MND Carers
Last Wednesday of every month 2pm-4pm
Skelton Lake Services, M1, Jn 45, Leeds, LS15 0BF
Contact details [email protected]/ [email protected]
Carers Leeds-Support After Loss Group.
This group is for any bereaved carer who is Leeds based and has lost the person that they have had a caring role for. It is held on the Third Wednesday of the month in the morning in the City Centre offices of Carers Leeds. For more information, please call the Carers Leeds Advice Line on 0113 380 4300 and one of the bereavement practitioners will arrange a call with a bereaved carer to discuss attendance of the group.
Leeds Mind Suicide
Leeds Mind Suicide Bereavement Services Peer Support Groups
Monthly group that meets on Zoom and face to face (the location private until you have signed up) and supports people bereaved or impacted by suicide across West Yorkshire and Craven.
Contact details – [email protected] 0113 3055800
Website Suicide Bereavement Services – Leeds and West Yorkshire – Leeds Mind
St Gemma’s Hospice
Growing around Grief group is a structured group for people who have been bereaved in the last year. The group is an opportunity to meet other people in a similar situation, to explore how we may experience grief, how we remember our important person and look to the future.
The group runs three times a year starting in January, April and September. The group runs on Wednesday mornings from 10:30-12:45 and lasts for six weeks. It is open to anyone who lives in Leeds as well as people who have a connection with St Gemma’s Hospice.
The Bereavement Café meets on the first and third Friday of the month between 10:15am and 12:15. This is a social group for people who have experienced a bereavement in the last two years and over eight weeks ago. It is a space for people who have had similar experiences to meet and provide mutual support in a relaxed atmosphere. People come to one café and attend the same one each month to allow for familiarity and friendships to form. Staff and café volunteers from the bereavement service are also there and refreshments are provided. People are welcome to attend the café for up to eighteen months. The Bereavement Cafés are for people whose family member or friend was cared for by St Gemma’s Hospice (inpatient or community teams).
St Gemma’s Hospice near Moortown corner, Leeds.
There are bus stops nearby and for those driving, there is plenty of free parking.
Contact details – Sarah Applewhite or Rob Hairsine – 0113 306 9167. Please contact us if you would like more information or to register for a place.
Website – Bereavement Support & Bereavement Counselling – St Gemma’s Hospice (st-gemma.co.uk)
Reset Counselling
Otley Bereavement Group
Meets on the first Friday of every month @ 11-1. Beech Hill Church Hall. Fully accessible to all users. Open to anyone.
Burley Bereavement Group
Meets on the second Thursday of every month @ 2-4. The Parish Centre. Fully accessible to all users. Open to anyone.
Silsden Bereavement Group
Meets on the first and third Tuesday of every month @ 10.30-12.30. Silsden Methodist Church Hall. Open to anyone. Ramp available if required.
People are welcome to contact me for more information via my website reset-counselling.co.uk or can just turn up.
Lippy People
Lippy People – Life, Loss, Learning, Legacy Project – peer support through video storytelling
A video storytelling project that runs at various times throughout the year at various locations across Leeds, but based at Hillside, Beeston Road.
The project supports various communities but works with adults and carers with lived experience of life changing experiences of loss. We work specifically with adults with learning disabilities as well, to ensure that discussions around death and dying are accessible.
Contact details – [email protected] / 07877 504668
SARAG
SARAG supports persons bereaved from an asbestos related illness / disease, living in the Yorkshire & Humberside area.
Sheffield Bereavement Support Group
Meeting on the fourth Tuesday of each month.
Time: 12 – 2pm.
Location: The Burton Street Pub Room, The Burton Street Foundation, 57 Burton Street, Sheffield. S6 2HH.
Wakefield Bereavement Support Group
Meeting on the first Tuesday of each month. This is a new group, starting on the 3rd of September 2024.
Time: 12 – 2pm.
Location: St Swithun’s Community Centre, Arncliffe Road, Wakefield. WF1 4RR.
Online Bereavement Peer Support Group
Meeting every other Wednesday via zoom.
Time: 10 – 11.30am
Location: Zoom
If you would like to find out more, please contact Deb Williams on 07714172416 or [email protected]
Good Grief Guiseley
An in person grief café that brings the bereaved community together, supporting each other, once a month. Understanding, care and kindness over tea and cake.
The group meets at Guiseley Theatre, 2-4pm. Dates for the remainder of 2024 are 16th August, 20th September, 18th October, 15th November and 6th December
Contact [email protected] or Heather at [email protected]
Bradford Sands- Stillbirth & Neonatal Death Charity
Bradford Sands is a local group running friendly and relaxed meetings, providing bereaved parents, family and friends with an opportunity to meet others who have been through a similar experience. Memorial and other events also run during the year locally and nationally.
The group meets at Shipley Library, 2 Well Croft Bradford, BD18 3QH
Contact [email protected] for more information. Facebook Bradford Sands National contact details are Sands.org.uk/support and 0808 1643332
Bradford Bereavement Support
Bradford Bereavement Support run a monthly peer support group for the residents of Bradford that meets on the third Friday of the month, 10am-12pm at Bradford University.
Contact [email protected] or call 01274 619522 for more information.
Angels and Stars Bereavement Support
We run a Bereavement support craft group on a Monday evening 6-8pm in the cafe in Waitrose in Meanwood.
It’s a free informal peer support group for adults over 18 who are bereaved. There’s free parking and refreshments.
Facebook Angels and Stars Bereavement Support.
Julie 07858541620
We are talking about Life and Loss
An in-person monthly bereavement support group, meeting at The Old Fire Station, LS9 and LS14 Trust Café Space, LS14,.
On Wednesday evenings, 6-7.30pm. 2025 dates for each location will be updated here in due course.
For details, contact Mags on 07484515520 or email [email protected].
The Coping with Bereavement Project
The Coping with Bereavement Project (CWBP) is a community focused bereavement service providing practical coping strategies and support to individuals and groups struggling with bereavement.
As a culturally competent service, our main community of interest is the Black African and Caribbean community.
CWBP aims to address issues associated with bereavement such as low moods, anxiety, stress, panic attacks, anger management and sleep deprivation. We also have our own highly trained and experienced complementary therapists who can provide a wide range of healing therapies to address the above issues. We also have our own network of black Bereavement Counsellors and Psychotherapists for more in depth mental health interventions.
We also facilitate a monthly bereavement peer support group which can be attended either in person at our premises or via the ‘Zoom’ video conferencing platform.
CWBP
Calm and Centred CIC
Tel: 0113 834 5141
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.calmandcentred.co.uk
Hawksworth Older People Support (HOPS)
A bereavement café on the first Wednesday of each month. This is an opportunity to get together, have a warm drink and talk in a safe space with a member of our team and other members of HOPS (Hawksworth Older People Support).
This is a group for everyone at HOPS or anyone over the age of 60 yrs who live in Hawksworth, the Abbeydales or the Vesper areas of Leeds 5, no matter who you have lost or when, you will all be welcome and we are here to support.
Contact Susan Childs at [email protected]
Bereavement Support Meeting
Full Circle Bereavement Peer Support
Everybody experiences bereavement in a very personal way and as we are all different, we all have our own preferences as to the type of support that we find helpful. To complement the range of support available, we host a monthly informal bereavement support meeting in each of our Full Circle services.
What can I expect?
The Coping with Bereavement Project
The Coping with Bereavement Project (CWBP) is a community focused bereavement service providing practical coping strategies and support to individuals and groups struggling with bereavement.
As a culturally competent service, our main community of interest is the Black African and Caribbean community.
CWBP aims to address issues associated with bereavement such as low moods, anxiety, stress, panic attacks, anger management and sleep deprivation. We also have our own highly trained and experienced complementary therapists who can provide a wide range of healing therapies to address the above issues. We also have our own network of black Bereavement Counsellors and Psychotherapists for more in depth mental health interventions.
We also facilitate a monthly bereavement peer support group which can be attended either in person at our premises or via the ‘Zoom’ video conferencing platform.
CWBP
Calm and Centred CIC
Tel. 0113 834 5141
Email. [email protected]
The support group is a very informal peer support group with no formal agenda. Some people choose to come and share their experiences whereas others prefer to simply listen. Many people who attend tell us that it is helpful to spend time in a safe space where they feel comfortable to speak about their bereavement. It can be reassuring to hear that others have similar challenges and feelings and to ask others how they have dealt with difficult situations.
Who can attend?
Our peer support group is open to anyone who would like to attend, whether you have used our funeral care services or not.
This group is peer-led and is not a space for 1:1 or group bereavement counselling. There are no bereavement counsellors present and if you are uncertain whether this is the right space for you then please get in touch to have a chat with Ruth.
Where and when?
The meeting is held on the first Wednesday of the month between 5.30pm – 7pm and is currently being held via Zoom.
Find out more
If you would like to join the meeting or would just like some more information, please contact Ruth on [email protected] or please contact your closest Full Circle service. All the information you need is on the contact page of this website.
After the first session, I felt a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. I felt something “unlock” in my grief; I slept better at night, was more open with my feelings, and was able to move forward rather than “move on”.
– Sian
Starting a peer support group
Bereavement peer support can be a powerful support mechanism when we are grieving. Just knowing that you are in the company of people who have a similar experience to yourself (a bereavement), can help us to feel listened to, understood, supported and friendships made.
Being part of a peer support group might be all that someone needs when coming to terms with their grief, or it can help as a holding space whilst waiting for counselling, or can work in tandem.
If you run an established peer support group in the Leeds area then you may like to find out about the Leeds Bereavement Peer Support Group Alliance for support, shared learning and for your own peer support
Training
We are delighted to be able to offer this training, which was initially created by Leeds Bereavement Forum and Sue Sutton from Carers Leeds.
This short course is designed to support people who would like to set up a local peer bereavement support group. The session will ensure that you feel confident and able to set up your group and also allows you to connect to an ongoing peer support group leader network.
Who can attend?
Anyone who would like to find out more about starting their own peer support group can attend.
Where and when?
The peer support group training is currently arranged on request – to suit the timing and needs of those who would like to attend.
Find out more
If you would like to join the training or would just like some more information, please contact Ruth on [email protected] or please contact your closest Full Circle service. All the information you need is on the contact page of this website.
Leeds Bereavement Peer Support Group Alliance
If you run an established peer support group in the Leeds area then you may like to find out about the Leeds Bereavement Peer Support Group Alliance for support.
This group meets three times a year and is a friendly and supportive group to help peer support group leaders / facilitators to get the help and support they need to confidently practice.
Please get in touch with [email protected] to find out more.