THERE are few things in life as certain as death, yet it largely remains a taboo subject. Those who suffer bereavements are often left feeling isolated and have have to cope alone.

But thanks to a group of dedicated volunteers, those grieving for a loved one are being offered free support and counselling to help them through their darkest times.

The Southend branch of national charity Cruse Bereavement Care runs both one-to-one support sessions and group meetings, plus a weekly drop-in counselling centre.

Centre manager Geof Shepherd said: “As a society we don’t have any rituals surrounding death and grieving any more, so people are left trying to deal with it themselves.

“Often you can’t talk to family because they are dealing with their own grief, and that’s where Cruse comes in.”

Volunteers at the centre, held at the Clarence Road Baptist Church, in Clarence Road, Southend, help people from across the south east, with some travelling from London for counselling due to waiting lists at other groups.

Mr Shepherd said: “We used to take people’s names and organise home visits, which led to a huge waiting list. When you are bereaved you want to talk at the time, not wait for six months.

“People come in, get assessed and matched with a counsellor, and then go into their sessions.”

The non-religious charity was founded nationally in 1959 and the Southend group has been running for 30 years, with the drop-in centre alone helping around 100 people each year.

As well as running the centre and providing counselling to people at home, the group also runs a fortnightly friendship and support group called Moving On, for people who have come to the end of their counselling sessions.

Mr Shepherd said: “When people have counselling, they have found someone to talk to, but when that comes to an end, the opportunities for talking about the dead person can get even smaller, so the Moving On group gives people a safe place to talk with other people who have been through it too.”

The group also runs training courses for counsellors, and works with local colleges to offer placements to counselling students, many of whom carry on working with the charity once their course finishes.

Operating with around 25 volunteer counsellors, who are all fully trained and CRB checked, the charity is funded entirely by donations, which often don’t cover the operating costs, making fundraising a priority.

Raising money is often a challenge, however, with the majority of funding coming in the form of donations from people the charity has helped. Mr Shepherd said: “Until we are needed people don’t want to think about us, or about death.”

Stephanie Turner, counsellor, supervisor and trainer with the group, added: “Death is the only thing you know is going to happen to you.

“We know we are going to die and we know we are going to lose people we love at some point in our lives yet it’s something we shut away.

“Fundraising for grief counselling is difficult and we do need more help.”

A fully-qualified counsellor, Ms Turner has been volunteering with the group for ten years and counsels both adults and children.

She said: “We see children whose lives can be helped by talking to someone about what they have been through.”

Counselling youngsters can take many forms alongside talking about their loss, including the creation of memory boxes and the use of art and play therapy.

As modern life means people often live busy lives far from family, the group provides support that would once have come from relatives and friends, and gives people somewhere to talk about their loss, long after the rest of the world has moved on.

Mr Shepherd said: “There seems to be a need for us more and more.

“People get isolated by grief and a bereavement volunteer gives them a good way to talk about their feelings. It’s all about listening.”

For more information about Cruse, call 01702 213843.