ABOUT US

Cruse Bereavement Care promotes the well-being of bereaved people and enables anyone bereaved by death to understand their grief and cope with their loss. As well providing free care to all bereaved people, the charity also offers information, support and training services to those who are looking after them.

Cruse is the UK’s largest bereavement charity and last year we:

• responded to nearly 100,000 requests for assistance.
• helped 32,400 bereaved people face-to-face, including 2,500 children and young people under the age of 18
• worked with more than 1,700 people bereaved by suicide

Founded in 1959 in Richmond upon Thames, Cruse has areas and branches across England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man. Apart from a core of paid staff, based mainly at central office in Richmond upon Thames, services to bereaved clients are provided by trained and skilled volunteers.

Cruse is a member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists and follows the rigorous code of ethics set out by that organisation. The welfare services that Cruse provides, particularly via its telephone helpline, have also been awarded a Quality Mark by Community Legal Advice.

In addition, some 300,000 visits were made to Cruse’s support website for young people - please click here for RD4U.

The backbone of Cruse is its 6,000 volunteers who receive highly acclaimed, relevant training at the start of their journey with Cruse and subsequently complete a further 15 hours of training every year.  

Cruse also provides training for external organisations and for those who may encounter bereaved people in the course of their work. For more information on how bereavement training can help your staff, please click here to find out about our one day workshops.

Cruse is a vital component of the healthcare system in the UK but we do rely on public donations to stay operational. In 2008/9 the total cost of running Cruse was £3.65 million, and this figure increases every year as more and more people seek support.  

If you are a member of the media and would like a full information pack about Cruse and its activities, please click here for information about how to contact us. You can also click here for a document with information for journalists.

Please click here for information on Cruse’s Patrons, Executive, Trustees and Management.

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