About Us
Our Vision
Our philosophy has not changed since Bereavement Assistance was founded in 1997. We always have, and will be true to our vision:
“To meet the growing need of the Victorian community falling below the poverty line by providing financial relief and emotional support for people affected by death… leaving them free to grieve”
We do this by combining our traditional values of integrity, teamwork, commitment and caring, with the practical assistance of providing dignified quality low-cost and charitable services for families struggling financially.
Bereavement Assistance enables dignity in death by helping families with limited or no funds to give their loved ones an honourable farewell and feel free to grieve without the added financial stress of costs associated with engaging with a commercial funeral service.
How we Work
Bereavement Assistance is a community-service, not-for-profit registered charity that provides dignified quality services at low-cost to the Victorian community who may struggle to afford a commercial funeral service. In addition, we give charitable means-tested services to disadvantaged families struggling financially.
We are able to achieve this through our funding partnership being with the Victorian State Government through the Department of Health and Human Services.
Low-cost is not low-quality, Bereavement Assistance is committed to providing professional, high-quality services of equal value to the commercial funeral directors.
We may not always be in a position to offer families all that they seek in farewelling their loved ones, but we are committed to maintain dignity in death.
Our experienced team not only have several years of experience between them, but they are compassionate, caring and service-driven.
At Bereavement Assistance you have the choice of services… a private, unattended cremation; or a private, unattended burial.
As a not-for-profit registered charity, we rely on donations and funding from external sources. We are partly funded by the Government of Victoria through the Department of Health and Human Services, and we receive donations from our social enterprise-based companion organisation, Potter’s Field Funerals, which gives financially stable families the opportunity to make a small contribution from the funeral service fee they pay. This contribution allows Bereavement Assistance to continue to provide charitable services to families with no money, or homeless people.
Who We Help
As a not-for-profit registered charity, we have provided dignified, quality charitable and low-cost funeral services to more than 5,000 disadvantaged families in Victoria.… victims of crime, ethnic communities, pensioners, the indigenous community, homeless people, refugees, travellers or people with no family or friends.
We work closely with the State Coroner’s Office, Victoria Police, Ambulance Victoria, Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB), Country Fire Authority (CFA), Victoria State Emergency Service (SES), Centrelink, Justice Department, Department of Health Human Services, and social workers in hospitals and palliative care facilities across Victoria.
We have teamed up with Treasured Babies, a sub-branch of SIDS and Kids to reduce the financial burden on families by providing a dignified quality service for babies and infants.
Contact Us
Let us know how we can help you.