Volunteering in bereavement: motivations and meaning

Authors

  • Ros Scott
  • Debbie Butler
  • Stewart Wilson

Keywords:

volunteering, bereavement, motivations, meaning

Abstract

Abstract

Bereaved people often say that friends, family and colleagues avoid talking to them about their loss. Indeed, sometimes people will cross the road to avoid engaging with them. This project sought to understand why ordinary people come forward to volunteer to help those who have been bereaved and what this experience means to them. Stories gathered from eighteen volunteers at Cruse Scotland suggested that their own experience of bereavement was the main motivating factor and that volunteers found significant meaning and growth through involvement in this work.

References

National Records of Scotland (2015). 2015 births, deaths and other vital events – preliminary findings. Edinburgh, National Records of Scotland. Available from: https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/statistics-and-data/statistics/statistics-by-theme/vital-events/general-publications/births-deaths-and-other-vital-events-preliminary-annual-figures/2015 [Accessed 20 January 2017]

Osterfield J (2009). Volunteers working in a bereavement service. In: R Scott, S Howlett, D Doyle (eds). Volunteers in hospice and palliative care; a resource for voluntary service’s managers. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 163–175.

Stephen AI, Macduff C, Petrie DJ, Tseng F, Schut H, Skår S, Corden A, Birrell J, Wang S, Newsom C, Wilson S (2015). The economic cost of bereavement in Scotland. Death Studies; 39(3) 151–157. doi:10.1080/07481187.2014.920435.

Downloads

Published

2017-05-04

Issue

Section

Other