Cruse Bereavement Care
Encyclopedia
Cruse Bereavement Care and its counterpart Cruse Bereavement Care Scotland are the United Kingdom
's largest bereavement charity
, which provide free care and bereavement counselling
to people suffering from grief
.
, Cruse has areas and branches across England
, Wales
, Northern Ireland
and the Isle of Man
. The first branch of Cruse Scotland opened in the late 1960s, and by the mid 90s there were 28 branches.
Cruse is wholly reliant on public donantions to operate its services, which in 2008/9 was £3.65 million.
services that Cruse provides have also been awarded a Quality Mark
by Community Legal Advice
.
Cruse also provides professioanl training on a commercial basis for other organisations, for those who may encounter bereaved people in the course of their work.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
's largest bereavement charity
Charity (practice)
The practice of charity means the voluntary giving of help to those in need who are not related to the giver.- Etymology :The word "charity" entered the English language through the Old French word "charité" which was derived from the Latin "caritas".Originally in Latin the word caritas meant...
, which provide free care and bereavement counselling
Grief counseling
Grief counseling is a form of psychotherapy that aims to help people cope with grief and mourning following the death of loved ones, or with major life changes that trigger feelings of grief ....
to people suffering from grief
Grief
Grief is a multi-faceted response to loss, particularly to the loss of someone or something to which a bond was formed. Although conventionally focused on the emotional response to loss, it also has physical, cognitive, behavioral, social, and philosophical dimensions...
.
Purpose
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.History
Founded in 1959 in Richmond upon ThamesRichmond upon Thames
Richmond is a town in southwest London, England and is part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is located west-southwest of Charing Cross....
, Cruse has areas and branches across England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
and the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
. The first branch of Cruse Scotland opened in the late 1960s, and by the mid 90s there were 28 branches.
Operations
Apart from a core of paid staff, based mainly at central office in Richmond upon Thames, services are provided mainly through locally co-ordinated groups, manned by 5,000 trained volunteers. In 2010, Cruse provided:- Responded to 100,000 requests for assistance
- Helped 32,700 bereaved people face-to-face, including 2,500 children and young people
- Worked with over 1,700 people bereaved by suicide
- 300,000 visits were made to Cruse’s support website for young people, RD4U
Cruse is wholly reliant on public donantions to operate its services, which in 2008/9 was £3.65 million.
Training
As a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, Cruse provides suitable training to all of its 5,000 counsellors, following the rigorous code of ethics set out by BACP. Additionally, once certified, an additoonal 15hrs of additional training is provided per year. Resultantly the welfareWelfare
Welfare refers to a broad discourse which may hold certain implications regarding the provision of a minimal level of wellbeing and social support for all citizens without the stigma of charity. This is termed "social solidarity"...
services that Cruse provides have also been awarded a Quality Mark
Certification mark
A certification mark on a commercial product indicates five things:* The existence of a legal follow-up or product certification agreement between the manufacturer of a product and an organization with national accreditation for both testing and certification,* Legal evidence that the product was...
by Community Legal Advice
Community Legal Advice
Community Legal Advice is a government-funded advice service set up by the Legal Services Commission in the United Kingdom. It aims to help people in England and Wales deal with civil legal problems, and is part of the legal aid program in those countries....
.
Cruse also provides professioanl training on a commercial basis for other organisations, for those who may encounter bereaved people in the course of their work.
Organisation
- Royal Patrons: HM Queen Elizabeth II
- Patrons: Baroness Bottomley of Nettlestone; Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of WestminsterArchbishop of WestminsterThe Archbishop of Westminster heads the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster, in England. The incumbent is the Metropolitan of the Province of Westminster and, as a matter of custom, is elected President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, and therefore de facto spokesman...
; Graham James, Bishop of Norwich; Lord Sacks, Chief Rabbi; Sir Sigmund SternbergSigmund SternbergSir Sigmund Sternberg, is a British philanthropist, businessman and Labour Party donor.-Early life:Sternberg is Jewish and was born in Hungary. He emigrated to Britain in 1939 and was naturalised as a British citizen in 1947.-Career:...
; Gisela StuartGisela StuartGisela Gschaider Stuart is a German born, British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Birmingham Edgbaston since 1997.-Early life:...
MP; Baroness Tonge; Ann CryerAnn CryerConstance Ann Cryer JP is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Keighley from the 1997 general election up until she stood down at the 2010 general election...
; Baroness Kramer; William RadiceWilliam RadiceWilliam Radice is a Poet, Writer and Translator.He is the Senior Lecturer in Bengali in the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.His research area is in Bengali language and literature....
; Dame Jo WilliamsJo WilliamsDame Josephine Williams, DBE, DL was the chief executive of Mencap until 1 November 2008. She is now a Commissioner of the Care Quality Commission....
; Lt Gen Sir Freddie Viggers KCB, CMG, MBE, DLFreddie ViggersLieutenant-General Sir Frederick Richard "Freddie" Viggers, KCB, CMG, MBE, DL is a former senior British Army officer, who served as Adjutant-General to the Forces immediately prior to his retirement 2008. He served as Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod from 30 April 2009 to 28 October 2010...
; Mark FrancoisMark FrancoisMark Gino Francois is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Rayleigh and Wickford.-Early life:...
, MP - Life President: Dr Colin Murray Parkes OBEColin Murray ParkesColin Murray Parkes is a British psychiatrist and the author of numerous books and publications on grief. He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire by the Queen Elizabeth II for his services to bereaved people in June 1996....
Management
- Chief Executive: Debbie Kerslake
- Director of Services: Catherine Betley
- Director, Cruse Wales: Janet John
- Director, Cruse Northern Ireland: Anne Townsend
- Director of Finance and Administration: James McCormack
- Director of Fundraising: Liz Taylor
External links
- Cruse Bereavement Care.org.uk
- Cruse Scorland website
- Cruse’s support website for young people, RD4U
- Cruse at DirectGovDirectgovDirectgov is the UK government's digital service for people in the United Kingdom, providing a single point of access to public sector information and services.The content is developed by government departments, working with a central Directgov team...