Support for people bereaved by suicide

Coping with grief

Losing someone you care about is difficult in any circumstance, but people who have lost someone to suicide often report that it comes with added difficulties.

Sometimes they feel as though they are in some way responsible because they didn’t do enough to support their family member or friend or that they didn’t realise how bad the person was feeling.

It’s important to remember that when someone has taken their own life, it was their decision and not something that you could control.

The death however may result in you feeling very low or even depressed yourself.

There are places you can go for support where people will understand the feelings you are experiencing and who will be able to reassure you that you were not responsible for the death.

Where can you turn to for emotional support?

Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide (SOBS)

Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide (SOBS) are an organisation set up for people who have lost someone to suicide. They have a national helpline offering support, as well as group meetings and information factsheets.

Helpline: 0844 561 6855 (9am-9pm daily)
Email: sobs.admin@care4free.net  
Web: www.uk-sobs.org.uk

The Flamsteed Centre
Albert Street
Ilkeston
Derbyshire
DE7 5GU

The Compassionate Friends 

The Compassionate Friends support bereaved parents and their families. They have a Shadow of Suicide (SOS) group that can put parents in touch with other parents who have lost a child to suicide.

Helpline: 08451 232204 (10am-4pm & 6.30pm- 10.30pm daily)

Email: info@tcf.org.uk 

Web: www.tcf.org.uk

Cruse Bereavement Care

Cruse Bereavement Care offer free, confidential help to bereaved people.

Helpline: 0844 477 9400 (9am-5pm, Monday- Friday)
Email: helpline@cruse.org.uk 
Web: www.crusebereavementcare.org.uk

Department of Health 

The Department of Health have a booklet for people who have been bereaved by suicide called Help is at Hand. It provides advice on both the emotional and practical aspects of grief and can be downloaded at www.dh.gov.uk or ordered by ringing 0870 600 55 22.

Where can you turn to for practical support?

When someone dies there are practical issues that will need to be addressed, such as telling family and friends and dealing with financial affairs.

The person may have left a will or have a life insurance policy which will need to be dealt with. You will also need to inform organisations such as

• their bank
• DVLA
• utility companies
• credit card companies 
• the Department for Work and Pensions.

The government website Directgov has information about what to do after a death that can be found at this link: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/governmentcitizensandrights/death/index.htm.

The Bereavement Advice Centre is a national service providing free practical advice about what to do after a death.

Telephone: 0800 634 9494 (9am-5pm, Monday- Friday)
Email: info@bereavementadvice.org Web: www.bereavementadvice.org

Ryon Hill House
Ryon Hill Park
Warwick Road
Stratford upon Avon
CV37 0UX

It may be that the person who died had unpaid debt and you are worried about what you should do now. National Debtline give free debt advice and they have an information factsheet ‘What to do about debt when someone dies’ which can be downloaded at www.nationaldebtline.co.uk or ordered by ringing 0808 808 4000.

The Rethink Advice and Information Service has a specialist money adviser who can give free, independent advice in relation to debt and welfare benefits, including bereavement benefits.

Investigations into a death

When someone takes their own life, there may be one or more investigations into their death.

This process can be very hard for families and friends to go through, because they are trying to cope with their grief at the same time. We have briefly described below what investigations might be carried out.

Inquests

When it is thought that someone has taken their own life, an inquest is held. An inquest is a court hearing during which the death is investigated by a Coroner (who is usually a doctor or solicitor), who looks at the where, when and how the person died.

More information can be found in our Inquests - information for families factsheet (277 kb)

You can also speak to an adviser if you have any questions about the inquest process, such as the scope of the inquest and representation

Further contacts 

The charity Inquest has extensive information about inquests including the rights of the family to be involved.

Tel: 020 7631 111 
Email: inquest@inquest.org.uk 
Web: www.inquest.org.uk

The human rights organisation Liberty has some useful information about the rights of the bereaved which can be found at http://www.yourrights.org.uk/yourrights/rights-of-the-bereaved/index.html.