Founded in 1969, The Compassionate Friends is the UK’s only national charity providing peer support from bereaved parents to other parents whose child, of any age, has also died, from any cause.

No-one expects their children to die before they do, yet this happens every year to thousands of families, who then face a future in which their lives have been changed forever. Immediately after the death, some parents receive support from relatives and friends and those in caring professions. Later this support can lessen, but the pain of bereavement can remain intense. This is when The Compassionate Friends can offer support and friendship through the range of services offered by other bereaved parents.

The Compassionate Friends supports around 30,000 parents a year through its peer support supplied by trained volunteers who are bereaved parents themselves.