0345 123 2304 helpline
helpline@tcf.org.uk
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Telephone helpline

UK National Helpline

0345 123 2304

Open every day of the year from 10:00 – 16:00 and 19:00 – 22:00

Also by email at helpline@tcf.org.uk

Our volunteers are all bereaved parents and are here to:

  • Listen and care when you need someone to talk to
  • Offer emotional support and an opportunity to talk through your feelings
  • Put you in touch, where possible, with your nearest Local or Group Support Contact
  • Offer supportive leaflets and newsletters by email or post
  • Signpost you to other services and useful sources of information

We are here whether you wish to ring the Helpline once, many times or simply from time to time. You may have been bereaved for just a few weeks or months, or five, 10, 20 years or more. Everyone’s loss and way of grieving is unique so please do phone when you feel the need. If either number is busy, please leave a message clearly stating your name and number and we will get back to you.

When you ring the Helpline, you will be connected to the bereaved parent who is on the rota for that session – this could be either a bereaved Mum or a bereaved Dad. If you are a bereaved Dad who would prefer to speak with another bereaved Dad or you are bereaved Mum who would prefer to speak with a bereaved Mum, please mention this to the Helpline Volunteer so they can let you know when a male/female volunteer is next on the rota. Alternatively, you may wish to email helpline@tcf.org.uk so we can facilitate your request.

We want to help and are here to listen so please do phone when you feel the need.

Calls to our Helpline are charged at the same rate as when calling a landline 01 or 02 number, whether making the call from a landline or a mobile.


What parents say about the Helpline

I have used (the Helpline) on many occasions to speak to someone who can really understand what you are going through because they have been there themselves. Sometimes because I was just unbearably sad, or I was worried about an anniversary, struggling with certain memories or had been hurt by something someone had inadvertently said or done. They might just listen, or share their own experiences, sometimes we would even end up laughing about the craziness of everything that was going on around us. At a time when no-one knows what to say to you because there isn't really anything anyone can say that will make anything any better, just talking and having someone listen helped me pick myself up and carry on to do the school run or empty the dishwasher. The grief of losing a child is so maddening, so desperate and so raw that like many people, I often did not want to share it with those closest to me, especially family who were grieving themselves. This is why The Compassionate Friends Helpline is so important. A, Somerset

I have used The Compassionate Friends Helpline a few times when I've been in the dark valley we all know so well. To have someone on the other end of the phone who, through my tears, could understand my thoughts and fears and was willing to listen, helped me so much each time. D, Scotland

I am very grateful I found TCF shortly after losing my daughter. I used the Helpline a lot in the early days. It gave me strength to go on. J, Yorkshire

I used the help line many, many times in the first year when I was at rock bottom and always felt ‘better’ after a chat. H, Kent

Support our work

Each year thousands of parents suffer the loss of a son or a daughter. Please help TCF to support families in their time of greatest need.

Make a donation

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Whatever your contact with TCF we encourage you to give us feedback so that we can continue to improve our support.

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