In a time of grief, we often turn to family and friends for support. Unfortunately for some, the loss of a life-long partner or last standing family member may leave an individual feeling isolated with no-one to turn to for emotional support.
At Lady Anne, we see this quite often and can understand how difficult it is. So, in an aim to help our community out, we have listed 5 support avenues to hopefully help someone in this situation.
1. Lifeline
A well known national support service is Lifeline. Lifeline provide 24 hour support to those experiencing a personal crisis. Along with the 24 hour telephone crisis line, an online crisis support chat is also available.
Lifeline also provides a vast number of support services to meet the needs of the local communities. Some of which include suicide prevention, bereavement services and face to face counselling.
As stated on their website, their motto is to “support Australians in times of crisis and equip individuals and communities to be resilient and suicide safe”, something they work endlessly to try and achieve. If you feel like you could benefit from Lifeline’s services, give them a call - 13 11 14
Learn how you can pay tribute to your loved one even after they're gone.
2. Beyond Blue
Beyondblue is a not-for-profit organisation working to increase awareness and understanding of anxiety and depression. The company’s overall aim is to help tackle the prevalent issue of mental health issues in Australia however they can be contacted for personal issues big and small.
Amongst their many programs that deal with issues such as depression, anxiety and suicide prevention they also provide information on dealing with grief and loss which is beneficial for someone going through the grieving process and looking for a support service.
If you require their services, Beyondblue is contactable through phone on 1200 22 4636, email or online chat.
3. National Association for loss and grief (NALAG)
Formed in 1977, NALAG is a not-for-profit organisation whose aim is to encourage and promote professional and community education in loss, grief, bereavement and trauma. They support those in time of need by offering free grief support either through telephone or face-to-face.
If you require the services of NALAG feel free to call the Sydney grief support telephone centre on 02 9489 6644 or see their website for further information.
4. Macquarie University Psychology Clinic
This clinic provides a range of services to both children and adults including emotional therapy for anxiety and depression and counselling for stress and bereavement amongst other things. It is staffed by registered or provisionally registered psychologists who are undertaking specialised post graduate training in clinical psychology and clinical neuropsychology.
If you are experiencing the grieving process and feel like this would be an appropriate avenue for you to receive emotional support, call on 9850 8000 to make a booking or visit their website for further information. Please note that this is not a free service.
5. The Compassionate Friends NSW
This organisation is known as a self-help organisation offering friendship and understanding to bereaved parents, siblings and grandparents after the death of their child/children. They aim to offer support and friendship to any sorrowing family, listen, provide group meetings and reach out to all bereaved families regardless of race, religion, financial status or nationality.
If you and your family are struggling to cope with the death of a child family member, contact The Compassionate Friends NSW.
Find out about more about helping your child cope with the loss of a loved one.
Going through the grieving period is a tough and challenging time, but hopefully you can take some peace in knowing that organisations and support services are available to help and listen. Hopefully these local numbers and websites will be of some help to you and your family through this tough time. Alternatively, if you'd like to learn some steps to deal with grief without the assistance of support lines, then feel free to read our recent blog post on dealing with grief into the new year.
