Loss and grief are universal experiences and are not restricted to specific societal groups. However, it is well documented that imprisoned people experience grief and loss that is much more complex and is experienced at a higher rate than the general population.  

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Dying Behind Bars (Hospice UK 2020) identifies that inequalities currently exist for imprisoned people being able to access bereavement support, and The Ambitions for Palliative and End of Life Care (2021) acknowledges that the public health approach to help deliver bereavement support at grass root level can reduce the dependency upon professional support and remove barriers to accessing help. 

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By working alongside prison inmates and staff, Evolve & Flourish deliver and also co-design loss and grief awareness training packages, to reduce the barriers that the prison community currently face with accessing bereavement support.  

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The aims of this training are: 

• To improve the understanding for imprisoned people and prison staff, of the impacts of bereavement behind bars and how to support others affected by it. 

• To enable prisons to establish their own peer led Bereavement Hubs 

• To provide prison communities with suitable resources and tools to help them to build capacity and resilience to care for those in prison who are experiencing loss and grief. 

• A reduced reliance upon professional counselling services. 

• A workforce who can support inmates and fellow colleagues who may be coping with loss and grief. 

 

Evolve & Flourish are extremely passionate about addressing the inequalities that currently exist for people residing in prison to accessing bereavement support and ensuring the prison community is well prepared to support those who are coping with loss and grief. We offer a range of training packages that have been codeveloped with prisoners and also offer the opportunity to develop and deliver bespoke training packages. 

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If you would like to address some of the barriers that your prison community face in accessing grief support get in touch with Evolve & Flourish to discuss training options.