Bereavement

Registering a death

This must happen within five days of the person's death. You must register a death with the council of the place of death.

• Register a death in Islington
• Register a death in another borough

Appoint a funeral director

Please contact your local director to help you arrange the funeral. The funeral director will be able to guide and support you through the process.

Find a funeral director.

Financial Support

If you or your partner get any of the following benefits, you may be able to get help with funeral costs.

• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Pension Credit
• Housing Benefit
• The disability or severe disability element of Working Tax Credit
• Child Tax Credit
• Universal Credit

Emotional support

For immediate urgent support for yourself or your child, contact your GP.

Bereavement is a time of very painful and confusing emotions. For most people these feelings will ease with time.

Camden City Islington Westminster Bereavement Service provide bereavement and loss counselling delivered by trained counsellors and therapists. You can also contact them by phone Tel: 020 7284 0090.

You don’t have to be alone with your grief. If you would like to talk to someone about your bereavement, contact Islington iCOPE (psychological therapies service). iCOPE provide psychological treatment for common mental health problems and Covid-19 Brief Coping intervention therapy.

If you are feeling lonely or isolated Islington Bereavement Service can offer support and a listening ear for up to ten weeks. They will match you with a trained and experienced volunteer who will support you. You must live in Islington or be registered with an Islington GP.

If you are concerned about your child following a bereavement you might want to talk to someone. There are national charities listed below that specialise in bereavement support for children, or you can contact local social and emotional mental health services for children by calling the Children's Services Contact Team (CSCT) Tel: 020 7527 7400.

Additional sources of support and bereavement counselling

• Nafsiyat can offer Islington residents psychological support and therapy, from therapists who work across different cultures and languages, delivering therapy in more than 20 languages.
• Maya Centre offers culturally sensitive, low cost counselling and talking therapies for women.
• The Stress Project low cost therapies and counselling.
• CARIS bereavement counselling for adults.
• SLOW Group support for bereaved parents.
• Jewish Bereavement Counselling Service bereavement support and counselling for Jewish people.

Bereavement awareness training

Islington and Camden Councils bereavement awareness training in delivered in the form of webinars by Cruse Bereavement Care with an aim to give participants the confidence to talk to people who are bereaved in a simple, empathic way, to be able to find the right words, and to provide simple signposting where needed. The training is for front-line workers or anyone who would come in contact with the bereaved individuals.

The participants can either be living, working, or volunteering in Islington or Camden, within the statutory, voluntary and community sectors. Book your spot now, further details to be provided upon registration.  

Cruse Bereavement Care Training

National advice and helplines

• CRUSE support, advice and information for children, young people and adults.
• Childhood Bereavement Network for support for a child or young person.
• National Association of Funeral Directors for advice on arranging a funeral during coronavirus restrictions.