TRAINING TO BE A VOLUNTEER

We need volunteers to help bereaved people who are struggling to face the future. It can be immensely rewarding to support people through one of the most difficult experiences they will ever have to face.

Anyone can apply to be a volunteer for Cruse, all you need is a sympathetic ear and a genuine desire to care for the bereaved. We welcome men and women of all ages, races, cultures and backgrounds. You do not need any qualifications or previous experience as we provide excellent training before you start, this will be give you all the preparation and support you need.

Bereavement is Normal (BiN) is an introductory course on bereavement, loss and grief. The course is suitable for:

• People who are considering applying to train to work with Cruse
• Professionals in many fields who support bereaved people in their work or as volunteers
• People who wish for personal reasons to understand the bereavement process further and gain an insight into the issues surrounding grief and loss.

The next BiN course will take place from Wednesday 7th March for eight sessions until Wednesday 9th May 2012.

Awareness in Bereavement Course (ABC) This course is for people who wish to train to be a Cruse volunteer. The course develops basic counselling skills to be used in bereavement support work and is accredited by Ascentis. A presentation evening is held to explain about Cruse and how we work and about the ABC course. Time is allowed for any questions you may have. If you are interested you then complete an application form and provide two referees. We arrange an interview for each of the applicants. Once we have done all the interviews we will write to you to let you know if you have been selected to go forward to the training.

An enhanced CRB check will be carried out during the training. When the course is complete there is another interview and, if successful, you will be allocated a supervisor and decide where and when you will see clients. There is an induction meeting to cover administration, confidentiality and health and safety issues and you will be given a Welcome Pack.

Our next ABC course will start in October 2012.

For more information, on any of our courses please contact Helen the Area Co-ordinator for details by phone 01223 302670 or by email to: cambridge@cruse.org.uk

Would you like to talk to someone about bereavement?
Contact our telephone helpline
01223 302662

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