Bereavement Support
If you have been affected by a loss by suicide, our hearts go out to you.
We want you to know that there is support for you.
There are people and support groups who care; available to be alongside you and your friends, workmates, groups and whānau.
Resources to guide you in knowing what to do or how to cope.
Helplines to call.
Safe spaces to talk.
This is a time when you may well need some listening ears and awhi.
As a starter, please click each tab for more info.
Good, clear practical information can be very helpful, especially when we're working through shock.
Head to here for detailed info, and answers to questions you may have.
Our Team are here to help and support you through this. For each situation, this looks a little different - so the first step might be chatting to us over the phone or dropping us an email or sending us a text to get support wrapped-around you. Head to our Contact Us page to find out how. We can offer one-on-one support; access to funded counselling; brief work with small or large groups, at your place or ours; debrief support for workplaces and teams; connections with peer support (people who care, deeply; and have walked a similar path).
Empathy Group is a Support Group that meets fortnightly. It is a caring, safe, compassionate space. Others in the group will have experienced similar loss (some recently, some many years ago). The group provides an opportunity to process our loss together; to learn from one-another; to gather resources that will help with our healing; to be alongside one-another on this journey. Click the Empathy Group Tab for more info.
Waves is a suicide bereavement support and education programme (meeting weekly, over an eight week period). It is regularly offered in Taranaki. There is no cost to take part. Many people have found Waves to be helpful; providing a safe, supportive environment, and some helpful tools in working through bereavement together. Click the Waves Tab for more info, and to find details of the next programme in your area.
A no-cost residential stay, away from it all - could be the right call - now, or in the future. We'd love to explore that with you. Contact us.
There is much, much more that we offer, such as Grief Workshops, Buddied Journaling and Memorials; information about these can be found in each tab. Please remember that we are here for you.
You and others may appreciate assistance with letting others know, looking after yourself and others, memorials and gathering. Dealing with hardship. Caring for rangatahi/tamariki. There are many organisations who can and will help:
The Rural Support Trust: Free and confidential help is available through the Trust's coordinator, and contact is one-on-one at a place that suits you. The Support Team are rural people with local knowledge who understand the challenges of rural life. Call 0800 787 254 or click here.
Victim Support provides a free 24 hour, seven days a week response to help people immediately affected. Support is provided by volunteers, who are specially trained in supporting people after a suicide. This free service provides emotional and practical support, information, and referral to other support services. Volunteers can provide you with an information pack called ‘Here for You’. You can call Victim Support yourself, or ask them for assistance for family, whānau or friends. To do this, ring Victim Support directly on their 24/7 line, 0800 842 846 or click here.
Taranaki Retreat offers a Pop-In Support Hub (Waimanako;/The Hope Centre) and a peaceful Retreat Centre. At Waimanako, you'll find our Cafe. A welcoming space where you can rock up for a good feed and excellent coffee for koha and talk face-to-face to someone who cares and understands. No question will be too tricky, and there will be no judgement. Call 06 2150993 or click here.
Taranaki Hospital's Assessment & Brief Care (ABC) team are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week on site and mobile mental health assessment team responding to people experiencing distressing and/or debilitating mental health concerns across the region.Call free: 0508 292 467
Need to talk? Call or text 1737 for free support from trained counsellors 24/7
Lifeline: For free 24/7 telephone counselling and support, call 0800 543 354 or Text 'Help' to 4357
Samaritans Helpline: For anyone who is lonely, or in emotional distress, call 0800 726 666
Click here to access a really cool 'Find a Helpline' service. You can filter by area and topic. Worth having a browse.
This is just a starter; there is much, much more available ...but we want to avoid information overload.
We find that the best course of action can be to sit down with someone and talk through your needs and those of your whānau, workmates and friends (for example - do our rangatahi need counselling? If so, when? Who offers that?) Navigating the right resources and knowing what's available takes time, energy and may be not what you need right now. That's all good. That's what we're here for - to help navigate this; get an understanding of what the needs are, and work on solutions together, linking you up with the right support services and caring organisations who can help.
You might find the drop-in service at Waimanako helpful for that; our Care Team have a database system of local supports (such as Yellow Brick Road, working with WINZ/MSD around housing, agencies and groups in your area, mentoring services, business support, financial and legal assistance etc.) we warmly invite you to call in for a cuppa and kōrero.
Wholeheartedly and with aroha - we are all here to help. If you'd broken your leg - you'd go get professional help rather than ignoring it or limping and expecting it to improve - be mindful of how much we need support through different kinds of pain and breaks. Respect to you for heading to this page - and for reading through. Not sure what to do next? Just drop an email here and say so. We'll understand.
With aroha and manaakitanga.
Head to this link to register for more information about Waves. We look forward to hearing from YOU.
Does this image look or feel familiar?
Some of these resources from our Kete could be what's needed right now...
1. Grief and Loss Workshop
If you, or a member of your whānau have endured a major loss - such as bereavement; loss of employment; loss of health / a recent diagnosis; divorce / separation / relationship breakdown...
This support will bring new hope.
This is for you, if you have been through a bereavement, and would find a memorial occasion for them to be helpful. When we are grieving a loss, it helps to have ‘somewhere to go’. A place to remember them. Sometimes, that’s not always possible. For some, at the time of the loss, tangi/funeral may not have been a healing experience. Revisiting that, and making new memories can be helpful. Together, we will plan a brief, uncluttered time of memorial for your loved one, to take place at the Retreat. There also is the opportunity to prepare and paint a memorial rock, bearing their name, and place it in the Retreat’s Garden of Remembrance.
Sometimes this is a one-off; sometimes the beginning of a more in-depth healing support journey. The mahi begins with a focus on what motivates you and what is holding you back. A great tool to untangle your thoughts and feelings around where you are at/where you want to be which offers you guidelines on how to work towards your goals.
Ideal for when there's a physical distance between the Retreat and you - or when sitting down with someone to talk feels like 'too hard basket' - or if writing is your ‘thing’. We offer a secure online shared blogging platform. There, people privately blog on a regular basis; and one of our Care Team sits alongside you as a buddy in your blogging, sharing the journey; and responding with encouragement and reflection. It can really help to process stuff - and is sometimes a great scene-setter for further support.
5. Grief Journaling
If you have experienced a bereavement in which the circumstances were tragic, and you are hurting from that loss - this programme could be for you. In five one-on-one or whānau sessions, your story will be heard and honoured; recognising the magnitude of your loss, the mix of painful emotions experienced, and providing tools and empowerment to recovery.