When a client contacts the SAIF Care service a member of our supportive team will listen to their experience, answer any questions they may have about bereavement or bereavement support and share helpful information about our services and other appropriate organisations that they might wish to contact. The helpline is open from 9am-9pm, Monday to Friday (excluding Bank Holidays) and although we endeavour to personally answer every call, there may be times when the phones are busy, in which case the client will hear an answerphone message where they will be asked to leave their contact details and tell us the best time for us to call them and we will ring them back as soon as possible – at the latest on the next working day.

All SAIF Care staff are trained in counselling skills and bereavement care and our Associate Counsellors are highly qualified professional counsellors who have successfully completed our rigorous application process. All of our people are friendly, reassuring and supportive as well as being fully vetted and insured.

Sometimes a client may speak with you about accessing support, but you may feel that they need some help in making the first step, so with the client’s permission you too can contact SAIF Care, pass along their details and ask us to contact the client directly.

SAIF Care is a free to access helpline, which clients can call as often as they need to. Calls are generally limited to about one hour in duration. The email service offers the opportunity for clients to communicate with a counsellor either on a one-off or ongoing basis, and our webchat service is available for instant chats. We also normally limit webchats to one hour in duration. If the client is looking for longer term counselling support, we can help them to find appropriate local bereavement organisations, or look into counselling.

Any clients under the age of 18, who contact SAIF Care, will be supported appropriately and advised (sometimes referred with the client’s permission) onto suitable young persons services.

The SAIF Care service no longer includes free counselling as part of the core offer. However, if you would like to offer counselling free of charge through your Funeral Services, there is the option to set up a Counselling Fund with SAIF Care at competitive rates.

If you wish to know more about this please email us on help@saifcare.org.uk or call 0800 917 7224. For more information about setting up a counselling fund click here. 

The SAIF Care service is only available to the clients of SAIF funeral directors.

However, we understand that grief and loss affects funeral staff too, therefore if you or a member of your team would like to speak to someone in confidence about a bereavement or any other issue you may contact SAIF Support on 0800 077 8578 or help@saifsupport.co.uk