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Talking About Loss: Reflections from Our Bereavement Webinar

Talking About Loss: Reflections from Our Bereavement Webinar

Talking About Loss: Reflections from Our Bereavement Webinar

Sunday, November 23, 2025

The Frontline Network recently hosted a webinar focused on the impact and experiences of death and bereavement on frontline staff.

In 2024, 1,611 people died whilst homeless in the UK, a 9% increase from the previous year. For many in frontline services, the death of a service user or colleague can have a deep effect on both individuals and teams. For services working with older or more vulnerable clients, these experiences can sadly be a regular part of the work.

The webinar brought together senior leaders within the homelessness sector to explore how death and bereavement affect frontline workers, how teams and individuals can navigate these challenges, and what organisations can do to create supportive environments. Speakers included Duncan Shrubsole (St Martin-in-the-Fields Charity), Pam Orchard (The Connection), Mark Brennan (Housing Justice), Gill Taylor (Museum of Homelessness), and Amy Hutton (Cyrenians Scotland).

During the discussion, Duncan Shrubsole highlighted how bereavement compounds existing pressures for both people experiencing homelessness and those supporting them:

“Just recognizing that bereavement hits hard anybody, even those with resources, family [support etc], so how much worse is it for someone without those resources, who's experiencing homelessness. Or for a hard-pressed frontline worker who's still got somebody else they need to see and someone else they need to support, and we capture a lot in our Frontline Worker Survey about the pressures facing frontline workers... and they're the ones who are closest to the person or the process of death."

Gill Taylor reflected on how emotionally demanding the work can be for staff:

"I think for all of us, the line between the professional and the personal is always blurred. We're here because of our values and our experiences and we channel that into our work, and that makes our work infinitely more emotional than for people who go to work for completely separate reasons."

The session offered space for honest discussion about the emotional demands of frontline roles, the cumulative impact of repeated loss, and the importance of acknowledging the humanity and significance of each person who dies. This openness about the emotional reality of the work was echoed in the reflections that followed.

"I challenge anybody who says that grief and expressing that grief is unprofessional. In fact, I think it's one of the most professional things we do. It's the way of showing respect to people who might otherwise be made invisible." - Gill Taylor

For those who missed the webinar, the full recording is available below.

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