Background The Family and Community Support Service was developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. By bringing together the Community Development, Social Work, Bereavement and Psychological Therapies Teams with the intention of extending our reach into communities for people affected by COVID-19, not known to Compton Care or living with a complex or incurable condition.

Aims To provide a support service for communities impacted by COVID-19 and focusing on three specific areas of support:

1. Wellbeing and Bereavement – Virtual Bereavement Information Hubs; a suite of bereavement literature; bereavement support through group sessions, art therapy and one-to-one counselling/therapy; virtual sessions on planning for the future.

2. Social isolation – Telephone befriending and virtual community support groups.

3. Signposting to other services – Information and guidance to help people access other services locally.

Methodology A triage and referral pathway developed through Compton Care Coordination Team to assess and identify the appropriate level of support for either informal, practical or complex support. Step 1 of the service to provide informal support to people in the community:

• Virtual Bereavement Information Hub – opportunity to share experience with others who are affected by loss and grief.

• Telephone befriending – supporting individuals on the telephone for those affected by loneliness and isolation.

• Understanding bereavement workshop – awareness session exploring effects of grief and supporting people who are grieving.

Results Through these methods, we have increased our community reach and supported the following:

• Virtual Bereavement Information Hub = 108 sessions held/22 people making over 220 visits to a session.

• Telephone befriending = 37 people and over 200 calls made.

• Understanding bereavement workshops = 12 held/78 participants.