Hope seeks donors for vital services

HOPE Bereavement Care has provided free support, information and counselling services to those who have experienced the sudden and unexpected death of a loved one for almost 40 years.

Programs such as Support After Suicide, Baby and Child Loss, and Kids Grieve Too have been developed to cater to the different bereavement needs of individuals who reach out or are referred to the organisation.

Throughout last year, Hope has experienced unprecedented demand for its bereavement services, with increases across all programs.

Continuing suicide deaths – including many young men – have seen a large increase in demand for Hope’s essential services.

In the year from July 2022 to June 2023 alone, Hope supported 714 grieving Geelong locals and provided 2,250 occasions of service including counselling, groups and capacity building.

Since 2020 and the start of COVID, the past three years have seen a 144.2 per cent increase in the demand for counselling services, including a 30 per cent increase in the Baby and Child program, a more than 500 per cent increase in demand for the General/Adult program, and a 229 per cent increase in Support After Suicide clients.

For the first time in Hope’s 38-year history, the organisation is managing a wait list for people to use its essential services, with wait times varying between six weeks to 10 weeks depending on the individual.

The cost to deliver its services, including the counsellors they employ, remains the organisation’s greatest expense.

Hope survives solely on the generosity and kindness of its Geelong donors to cover its present annual budget of $500,000, as any sort of government funding remains unavailable to this organisation.

To help cope with Hope’s ongoing increase in demand, the organisation is launching a much-needed fundraising campaign centred on donors contributing $100, whether that be as a one-off, monthly, quarterly or annually.

Hope’s 100 is seeking local supporters at all levels – individuals, businesses, and other organisations – with contributions going directly to providing hope for those in the community who really are in need.

Through Australian giving platform Give Now, Hope has developed a user-friendly and stress-free way people can donate.

Supporters can stay up to date with where their contributions are going or can opt out at any time they feel is necessary, with a total tax deduction able to be made against any monies donated.

For more information on Hope’s 100, head to bereavement.org.au/donate