Over 300,000 people facing Covid-19 bereavement

Source: Sudden/SVP

Christmas 2020 is likely to be very different this year as covid safety restrictions will limit church celebrations and family gatherings. But also - more than 300,000 people in the UK will be suffering with bereavement - due to Covid-19, with communities in Essex, Kent, Lancashire, Birmingham and Surrey the most affected, according to research by the charity crisis bereavement service Sudden.

The charity is highlighting the importance of immediate support to help people deal with the unexpected death of a loved one, to help them cope, stay safe, deal with urgent practical and financial challenges and reduce the risk of mental health issues including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) ,

To mark this year's National Grief Awareness Week, Sudden has also published a Christmas gift guide to help support someone who has been suddenly bereaved.

Helen O'Shea, National President of the St Vincent de Paul Society in England and Wales, commented: "With close to 60,000 dead from Covid-19 in Britain, so many people are coping with bereavement. Where people have lost family members and close friends the grief can be profound and long-lasting. This is made worse by the fact that they are unlikely to have been able to visit their loved ones in hospital and, because numbers attending funerals are heavily restricted, they may not even have been able to give them a proper send-off. This means that there may be no sense of closure.

"The SVP has around 10,000 members in England and Wales and for many of them an important part of their work is supporting people through bereavement and as they face the end of their lives, as well as giving friendship and help to their families. Issues can include helping them organise the funeral and avoid some of the financial problems and debt associated with funeral poverty, and just being there with a cup of tea and a friendly ear when the bereaved want to talk about how they feel.

"However, thanks to Covid-19 a lot of this work is just not possible - at least in person. SVP members have been available on the end of the phone and have been writing caring letters to bereaved people, and we have encountered a great deal of pain, distress, anger and confusion.

"When all this is over - and there is now light at the end of the tunnel with several new vaccines on the horizon - I think there are going to be many bereaved people who haven't come to terms with the death of a loved one.

"On-going grief, depression and loneliness will be a legacy of the pandemic when talk of lockdowns and social distancing is over. Then, at least, SVP members will be able to visit and befriend the bereaved again and listen and support them."

LINKS

SVP - www.svp.org.uk/

Christmas gift guide to help support someone recently bereaved - https://sudden.org/latest-news/gift-ideas-for-someone-suddenly-bereaved/

Sudden - https://sudden.org

National Grief Awareness Week - http://nationalgriefawarenessweek.org/