Funding to support Sheffield residents with loss and bereavement

The majority of people will experience the passing of someone close at some stage of their life, but the support that different groups and individuals have access to, can differ greatly.

Those living alone or in more deprived circumstances, people living in urban areas and some ethnic minorities are said to be more likely to experience poorer outcomes when it comes to their experience of bereavement.

There is also said to be inequality when it comes to use of services for end-of-life care, with things like hospice care being more accessible to some groups than others. This can then have a significant impact on a family or individual’s experience of a loved one passing away.

However, a local initiative called Compassionate Sheffield, aims to improve experiences of death and bereavement and reduce these inequalities.

Working with communities, health care agencies and the Voluntary Community and Faith Sector (VCF), they deliver community-based initiatives that help empower people to take control of the factors that influence their experience of loss, with the aim of better equipping them to cope with the devastating impacts of bereavement.

Since introduced in 2021, the impactful programme has been funded on an ad hoc basis by Sheffield City Council, South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board and St Luke’s Hospice, who also host the programme.

On Monday, February 3, 2025, at a Communities, Parks and Leisure Committee meeting, £400,000 in funding over the next five years was approved as the Council’s contribution to the Compassionate Sheffield programme, hosted by St Luke’s Hospice.

Councillor Kurtis Crossland, Chair of the Communities, Parks and Leisure Committee at Sheffield City Council, said: “The work being carried out by Compassionate Sheffield is nothing short of inspiring.

“Loss will unfortunately affect us all at some stage in our lives, but the ways that bereavement impacts us will be different for different groups within the community.

“I hope the funding we have agreed today towards the Compassionate Sheffield programme will go some way in making this difficult journey even slightly better for those who need the support the most.”

In 2019, Sheffield adopted the Compassionate City model, with the aim of ensuring that everyone lives the end of their life with dignity and in the place of their choice.

A Compassionate City is one that recognises that care for one another at times of crisis and loss is not a task solely for health and social services but is everyone’s responsibility.

The Compassionate Sheffield programme was launched in 2021, and since then has demonstrated a positive impact on individuals and groups across the city.

The new recurrent funding, which will see £80,000 from the Public Health Grant, awarded each year for the next five years towards the Compassionate Sheffield programme will offer security for the programme in the coming years and allow for its development.

Read the full report to committee on the Sheffield City Council website: https://democracy.sheffield.gov.uk/documents/s74038/Policy%20Committee%20Decision%20Report_CPL_Compassionate%20Sheffield_2024.12.06.pdf

Find out more about Compassionate Sheffield on their website: https://www.compassionate-sheffield.co.uk/