Veterans Bereavement Support is a community-based organisation providing free advice and information for all those who have served or have served in the Armed Forces and Merchant Navy over the years. We also support the Emergency Services Family.
We provide ongoing bereavement care for families and friends of those who have served and who struggle with the passing of someone special, including advice and information on funeral etiquette including the loan of regimental or general service drapes for the coffin.
We are a totally independent community organisation that has been supporting veterans and their families since 2013.
No one here is paid – everyone volunteers their time, skills, and talents to help others. We have been acknowledged for our services and have worked with many veterans and their families by regimental associations and other Armed Service Organisations.
We are totally independent and any funds that we generate are used to support our work and for training of more volunteers who reach out and support others. We have no statutory funding and rely on the donations that we receive through the loan of drapes and occasional donations.
Veterans Bereavement Support Services was established after we saw a veterans funeral take place at the local crematorium and the coffin had just a small 2ft x 3ft flag on it, the medals were inside and upturned beret and that was how the corporate company choose to honour a WW2 Veteran.
It was then that I realised that there was a lack of advice and support for those funeral directors and family members when it came to arranging a veteran’s funeral and we started to advise families on the best way forward, and how to honour the passing of someone who served our Country.
As time progressed, we started to get enquiries from families for bereavement support, how do they cope with the loss of someone so special without having to wait months from more statutory organisations for support in ways of managing their loss. It was then that we started to provide a telephone support service, where those affected by loss were able to ring for a one-off call for reassurance that they are not alone, to ongoing bereavement support over weeks. All of this was provided free of charge by dedicated and experienced volunteers.
The demand on the loan of coffin drapes has grown significantly year on year and we have been able to ensure that every Veteran has been able to have his or her service honoured with the regimental ensign on the coffin at their funerals, and more recently we have been able to reach out to funeral directors across the UK, so that they can access this support at the time of need.
https://www.veteransbereavementsupport.com/coffin-drapes
As time progresses we have been expanding our services significantly including welcoming those who serve or have served in the Emergency Services, as they need support equally.
Recently we have paid for training for volunteers in Grief and Bereavement Support and through the generosity of donations from families, we have been able to start training for another 10 volunteers on a course that takes 150 hours to complete based on Bereavement Support, and this in turn enables us to create more resource points across the Country and also take the next step of telephone support services.
We have also started a friendship phone service for veterans who experience loneliness following the loss of a loved one and are already looking at ways of expanding this service.
The key to the success of our service is the dedication and commitment of a few volunteers who are there at the time of need and we are looking for others to volunteer and help us to expand our services further during 2023.
As an independent community organisation, we rely on the donations from families who use our services, and also, the wider community who recognise the need for the work that we undertake. We do not get any statutory, Government or local funding and every penny donated is used for the benefit of veterans and their families.
Article by Veterans Bereavement Support
Donations towards the cost of loaning the drapes and postage can be made into the following bank account: Veterans Bereavement Support. Sort Code: 30-98-97 Account number: 44034660We are not connected in anyway to any other ex-service or government organisation and we rely on donations to fund our work helping bereaved families.
