BRIDPORT'S mental health charity has been awarded a £3,000 grant to continue running its successful Bereavement Group.

Funding for the Burrough Harmony Centre group has come from Dorset NHS Community Partnerships.

Bereavement is the experience of losing someone important to us. It is characterised by grief, which is the process we go through as we gradually adjust to the loss. Around 7,000 people in West Dorset are bereaved, according to the last census; around 7 per cent of our population. Losing someone important to us can be emotionally devastating - whether that be a partner, family member, friend or pet. It is natural to go through a range of physical and emotional processes as we gradually come to terms with the loss.

The Burrough Harmony Centre Services Manager, Carrie Gamble, said they were very thankful for the funding, adding: "At the end of last year we set up a pilot (of a) group that offers support for bereaved people. The Bereavement Group fosters wellbeing, reduces isolation and increases knowledge and understanding. This grant enables us to carry on that work. Although everyone experiences grief in a different way, peer support, understanding and shared experience is very helpful. There is no need for anyone to feel alone with their grief.”

The Bereavement Group is led by a specialist psychotherapist and offers a warm welcome to bereaved people in a confidential space in which they are able to share their experiences with others and receive both practical and emotional support. There is also input from Ammonite Health Partnership, and A G Down (Funeral Directors).

The group meets every third Monday of the month from 4pm until 5.30pm at the Assembly Rooms in Gundry Lane Bridport. No referral is necessary – just turn up.

The Community Partnership Grants Programme was launched by NHS Charities Together in September 2020 in recognition of the vital work that voluntary and community groups do to support the work of the NHS, particularly in the wake of Covid-19