About Us

The Southern Highlands Bereavement Care Service is a non-profit organisation and receives funding from the NSW Department of Health. It was established in 1990 to provide bereavement support to all members in the community from the Wingecarribee and Wollondilly Shire areas.

The service is managed by a management committee team drawn from the local area. Members bring experience and expertise from a range of areas, and are sensitive to the ongoing well being of bereaved individuals and families. The management team supports the staff and meets regularly with them to oversee the work of the service and to discuss directions and decisions. An annual general meeting is held at the end of each calendar year where members of the public are invited to attend.

Counselling is offered to individuals, families, teenagers and children who suffer bereavement through the death of a loved one. The service also provides care to those who experience ambiguous loss and to those who experience life changes which are accompanied by feelings of sadness and loss. Support is offered to those who are preparing for their own death and to those preparing for the death of a loved one.

Group support is available through group counselling. The groups develop in response to the needs of the community and so the community is invited to contact the service when need arises. The service currently holds a group for mothers whose sons have died as a result of motor vehicle accidents and a group for widows.

Training is offered in grief and bereavement both to the community and to professional groups. Our counsellors continue to upgrade their qualifications in grief theory and attend regular training with various world recognised organisations.

Bereavement support volunteers have been trained by the service to provide ongoing support to clients who are nearing the completion of counselling and who would like some continued contact with our service. These volunteers are supervised by the counsellors.

An extensive library is available to all clients and to the community in general.

The service provides equitable access to all those who are bereaved. Accordingly the service is accessible to those who are in financial difficulty. As a guide to the payment of fees a sliding scale is provided. Where necessary the fee is waived.

The Southern Highlands Bereavement Care Service has published a booklet for teenagers

"I Can do it BUT it's Still HARD".

It has been distributed extensively around Australia and overseas and is available from the service.