Next steps for the Grief Cafe
Grief doesn't keep office hours, and it rarely waits for the right moment. That's the thinking behind Open Arms Grief Café, the drop-in bereavement support session now running at The Hub@BA15, the community charity based at the Old Town Hall on Church Street, Bradford on Avon.
A quiet space that's found its footing
Since launching, Open Arms has grown from a small, tentative gathering into a steady fixture in the Hub's calendar. There's no agenda, no need to book, and no pressure to talk if you'd rather just listen. Visitors drop in for tea, coffee, cake and company, and stay for as long, or as short a time as they need.
The café sits alongside the Hub's wider programme of support, which already includes a foodbank, welfare and debt advice, computer access, and general drop-in help — so it's very much part of a place people already know and trust, rather than a service bolted on from outside.
Currently meeting on Monday afternoons, 2pm–4pm at The Hub@BA15, Church Street, BA15 1LS. As session days and times have shifted before to suit demand, it's always worth checking boahub.co.uk or calling 01225 920748 for the latest details before you visit.
The café draws people from right across the area — not just Bradford on Avon itself, but Winsley, Holt, Westwood, Limpley Stoke, South Wraxall, Wingfield, Staverton, Melksham and Trowbrudge too. For many, it's the first time they've had somewhere local, informal and free to talk about loss.
What's next: a resource bank for grief support
Encouraged by how well the café has been received, we are now developing the next stage of its grief support offer: a local resource bank, a curated, easy-to-navigate collection of grief and bereavement support services, contacts and information for the Bradford on Avon area.
The idea is simple. Right now, if you're newly bereaved, working out where to turn can be its own small ordeal: searching for counsellors, support groups, helplines, and guidance on the practical side of loss, often at the moment you have the least energy to do it. A single, trusted local resource bank would bring all of that together in one place, making it easier for residents (and for the professionals and volunteers who support them) to point people in the right direction quickly.
Plans are still taking shape, and we are keen to hear from anyone with a stake in this:
Local counsellors, therapists and support groups who'd like to be included
Residents with lived experience of grief who can say what would have helped them most
Volunteers interested in helping build or maintain the resource
Local organisations — GPs, churches, schools, funeral directors — who could help spread the word
Get involved
If you'd like to support the Open Arms Grief Café, contribute to the resource bank, or simply find out more, get in touch with me here or The Hub@BA15, where there will be a postbox for you to pop a postcard into so we can connect with you
Address: The Hub@BA15, Church Street, Bradford on Avon, BA15 1LS
Grief can be isolating. Projects like these exist to make sure that, in this corner of Wiltshire at least, no one has to carry it entirely alone.