Did you know that LSE has a support group for students who have experienced a bereavement? Students Talk About Loss at LSE is a volunteer-led group that organises meetups for bereaved students to talk about their experience of loss and grief in a safe, welcoming space.
Although there is no single, definitive experience of bereavement, many people who suffer a loss feel that the pain it causes never truly fades, and is instead something that needs to be carefully managed with the passage of time. One of most effective ways of managing grief is to talk about it with other people who have shared a similar experience. These conversations have a certain cathartic, restorative quality to them, allowing us to carry on with our lives without feeling pressured to ‘just move on’ from the person whom we loved and lost.
The role of Students Talk About Loss at LSE is to facilitate these conversations. We organise regular meetups for bereaved students to come together and talk through their experiences of loss and grief. Our emphasis is on creating safe, welcoming and inclusive spaces, open to anybody who feels they would benefit from attending. Although our aim is to create conditions in which you have the time and space to say everything you need or want to say, we also welcome students who would prefer just to listen. Many people who have suffered a bereavement take some time before they are ready to talk about it, and in no circumstances will anyone attending one of our meetups ever be pressured to speak.
These spaces are especially important in a university context. Exciting, exhilarating, and joyful as the university experience may be, it can feel isolating in equal measure. For some students, coming to university means – or at least feels like – leaving behind support networks that they have painstakingly developed over time. This underlines the pressing need for the support that we provide each other in our regular meetups.
Our support group is now entering its second year, having been set up last year by the inestimable Arden Farrow. With the support of LSE’s Student Wellbeing Service and Volunteer Centre, our team of three volunteers – Sofia Zavala, Zoe Cordner and myself – is currently preparing to hold our first meetup of the term, at 2pm on Wednesday 19 October in the Activity Resource Centre (Saw Swee Hock Student Centre, Level 1). If you think you would benefit from joining the session, we would love for you to join us. If you would like to find out more about our group, you can also email us at lse@letstalkaboutloss.org, or by visiting our website. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer session facilitator you can find our more on CareerHub.
If this has inspired you to volunteer, check out one of our other ongoing opportunities or book a one-to-one with David Coles, the Volunteer Centre Manager if you have more questions. And why not follow us on Twitter, and Instagram to stay up-to-date with our events and opportunities and read our blog for more volunteering tips and stories.
