Plea for funds to increase grief cafe support

A fundraising campaign hopes to see more support introduced via grief cafes around Shropshire.

The cafes offer trauma-informed support to those suffering loss or going through crisis - and currently take place in Wem, Ludlow, Shrewsbury and Leegomery in Telford, run by Shropshire Grief Tending Services CIC.

The campaign, called Holding Grief, Growing Hope, aims to create more spaces for people to gather in the cafes, provide one-to-one support and to train as grief volunteers.

Community donations will be matched with support from Shropshire Council using funds from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

The project has already raised more than £5,000 of its target of £9,586.

Funds are being raised through Crowdfunding Shropshire, which is a civic crowdfunding platform.

"This project is based on a model that works and has proven beneficial for the people of Wem, Ludlow and Shrewsbury in need of support when experiencing grief and other forms of crisis," said Alex Wagner, deputy leader of Shropshire Council.

Councillor Gary Groves from Wem, where one of the grief cafes is based, added: "In times of financial difficulty and uncertainty it can be hard to find funding to support local groups, however important they may be."

"The benefit of Crowdfund Shropshire and the civic crowdfunding approach is that it matches a grant from Shropshire Council with community donations.

"This collective approach makes a little bit go further and it makes things happen."

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