Helping communities to care for the grieving: Co-op and Cruse launch new partnership to empower local people to support the bereaved

20 January 2022

• Online resources and on-the-ground pilot project will help upskill communities to provide everyday bereavement support
• Launch comes as new study shows half (49%) of UK adults who have not experienced a bereavement feel unprepared in knowing how best to support someone who has experienced the death of a loved one
• Almost one in eight (12%) have gone out of their way to avoid someone who is recently bereaved because they don’t know what to say to them
• Over a third (36%) of bereaved UK adults said people used well-worn cliches when trying to offer condolence and three in ten (29%) say they did not have access to the right bereavement support

A new partnership from Co-op and Cruse Bereavement Support is aiming to help people talk about death and grief more openly, as the nation continues to emerge from the devastating effects of the Coronavirus pandemic.

YouGov research* out today reveals that half of Brits (49 percent) who have not experienced a bereavement admit to being unprepared in knowing how to help a bereaved friend or relative and one in eight (12%) have actively gone out of their way to avoid someone who is grieving because they don’t know what to say to them.

Just over four in ten (43%) British adults are worried about saying the wrong thing and a third (32%) don’t know how to start a conversation after a bereavement.

Of those British adults who have experienced the death of a loved one in the last five years, over a third (36%) said that the people they’d come into contact with had relied on cliched phrases of condolence because they didn’t know what else to say and three in ten (30%) had experienced people not referencing their loss at all. Three in five (60%) said their community had not helped them deal with their grief and three in ten (29%) felt that they had not had access to the right support.

In more positive news, three in ten (29%) of UK adults are interested in learning how to better support the bereaved.

To help promote useful conversations, Co-op and Cruse Bereavement Support have joined forces to launch a new partnership which will aim to empower people in their local communities to provide everyday bereavement support to those who have experienced a bereavement.

Funded by Co-op members through the Co-op’s Community Partnership Fund, the campaign launches with a suite of bite-size resources featuring Cruse experts and people in the community, which address important issues such as understanding, normalising and identifying the signs of grief and knowing how the community can provide support.

Freely available for anyone to access at Co-op’s online community centre Co-operate, www.coop.co.uk/griefsupport the new resources will be shared with communities right across the UK.

Later this year, the partnership will roll out on-the-ground bereavement support projects across all four home nations. Local Cruse colleagues will work with local communities to offer face-to-face workshops on how to support people with grief and knowing how and when to signpost them to more formal support.

Andy Langford, Clinical Director at Cruse Bereavement Support, said: “At Cruse, we know that those who have experienced the death of someone close naturally turn to family, friends and those around to them for comfort. However, our research clearly tells us that people don’t always know what to say to someone experiencing grief and feel in some cases it’s better to do nothing than risk causing upset. This exciting partnership with Co-op will not only help educate people in communities on the importance of good grief support, but will also offer practical ways to help people through some of the most painful times in their life. As the nation continues to emerge from the effects of the pandemic, we feel optimistic that this important initiative can take a big step towards normalising conversations around bereavement and encourage communities to help each other through times of grief.”

Rebecca Birkbeck, Director of Community and Shared Value at Co-op Group, said: “Co-op is delighted to be partnering with Cruse to mobilise communities to support the bereaved. Our research shows the vital role that communities have in supporting the mental wellbeing of those who have been bereaved, from supportive conversations about grief and signposting to more formal support, to providing hubs, networks and activities that can help with social connection, routine and meaning that may be missing following the death of someone close”.

Sam Tyrer, Managing Director of Co-op Funeralcare, the UK’s largest funeral provider, said: “Navigating the death of a loved one is a devastating experience and we are committed to providing support, not only at the time of organising a funeral but in the days, weeks and months that follow. Our professional and caring Funeralcare colleagues have offered comfort and support to thousands of grieving families, particularly over the past two years, and in partnership with Cruse, we are now looking forward to helping our local communities understand how to provide more targeted bereavement support when needed. Cruse does such incredible work to help the bereaved and together we want to ensure that nobody has to deal with grief alone.”

Tracey Harriman, a Cruse volunteer and Co-op Funeralcare service arranger from Littlehampton, West Sussex, said: “I see people every day who tell me how isolated their grief makes them feel. This joint partnership with Cruse and Co-op is a tremendous undertaking as it will help people in communities to have conversations, helping them to provide better practical and emotional support to those that need it in their darkest hour.”

Co-op’s recent report Together Through Tough Times carried out last year alongside MIND, Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH) and Inspire showed the value of communities to mental wellbeing including those who have been bereaved, as more people became isolated due to the pandemic.

Each year Co-op supports thousands of local community causes through the Local Community Fund, connects people in communities through one thousand Member Pioneers who make good things happen locally and through Co-operate, its online community hub. Co-op Funeralcare is the UK’s largest funeral provider with over 830 homes across the UK.

ENDS

For more information please contact:

• Aimi.mcneill@coop.co.uk – 07739 657585
• Sarahjane.thoms@coop.co.uk – 07890 384552
• Elliott.Lancaster@coop.co.uk – 07808 609 944
• For all Cruse Bereavement Support media enquiries, please contact morgen.evans@cruse.org.uk / 07904 662 001.

Notes to editors

*All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2264 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 7th - 10th January 2022. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).

About Co-op: The Co-op is one of the world’s largest consumer co-operatives with interests across food, funerals, insurance and legal services. Owned by millions of UK consumers, the Co-op operates 2,500 food stores, over 800 funeral homes and provides products to over 5,100 other stores, including those run by independent co-operative societies and through its wholesale business, Nisa Retail Limited.

Employing over 62,000 people, the Co-op has an annual turnover of £11.5 billion. As well as having clear financial and operational objectives, the Co-op is a recognised leader for its social goals and community-led programmes. The Co-op exists to meet members’ needs and stand up for the things they believe in.

When Co-op Members buy selected Co-op branded products and services, 2p for every pound spent is shared equally between the Local Community Fund for local causes and the Community Partnerships Fund, to support communities through like-minded national charities and organisations.

Co-op is using its network of community contacts to support opportunities for collaboration and partnership working at a local level. This includes Co-op’s network of Member Pioneers who help make good things happen in communities and Co-operate, an online community hub that helps people in communities come together.

About Cruse Bereavement Support: Cruse Bereavement Support is the UK’s leading bereavement charity for people in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. We help people through one of the most painful times in life – with bereavement support, information and campaigning. We are here to make sure that everyone grieving gets the support they need, when they need it. You can access our services through our website, national helpline (0808 808 1677), live chat, group, zoom, telephone or one-to-one in person support. We have a specially trained, dedicated team of 4,000 bereavement volunteers and also provide training and consultancy for external organisations and for those who may encounter bereaved people in the course of their work.

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