Sue Ryder’s Bourne-based Grief Kind Space to relocate from Hereward Practice to Barchester’s The Cedars care home

A hospice charity is expanding its grief support group after high demand.

Sue Ryder launched Grief Kind Space in Bourne in April 2023 at the Hereward Group Practice to help people through bereavement.

Since the service began, the number of people attending the weekly sessions and sharing their experiences of grief has more than doubled.

As the Grief Kind Spaces grows, the sessions will move from the doctors’ surgery to Barchester’s The Cedars care home in Church Walk, Bourne.

Marie Huggins, the Grief Kind Spaces area coordinator for Lincolnshire, said: “It’s amazing how the group has grown so much in just over a year and that more people feel comfortable enough to talk to our volunteers and each other.”

Sue Ryder’s Grief Kind Spaces are volunteer-led, with volunteers receiving training and guidance to help attendees connect and share their experiences of grief through peer-to-peer support.

Helen Didsbury is the lead volunteer at the Sue Ryder Grief Kind Space in Bourne and has been with the group since it began.

She said: “I first started volunteering at the Bourne Grief Kind Space after my husband died. “At the time of my loss, I struggled to cope so I feel that having the Sue Ryder Grief Kind Space group is a really important service.

“Being able to help others who are going through something like my own grief means a great deal to me, and it has proved of tremendous benefit to those who attend each week.”

The Sue Ryder Grief Kind Space in Bourne will take place every Thursday from 10am to midday.

A group is also held in MindSpace, Stamford every Friday from 10am to midday.

A group is set to open in Spalding soon.