The Compassionate Friends

{{Infobox organization

| name = The Compassionate Friends

| type = Support Group

| founded_date = {{Start date|1969|01|28|df=y}}

| registration_id = England and Wales Charity number 1082335

| founder =

| location = Kilburn Grange, Priory Park Road, London NW6 7UJ

| origins =

| key_people = Co-founder: Revd Canon Dr Simon Stephens, OBE RN
President: The Countess Mountbatten of Burma

| area_served = (National) 0345 123 2304
(NI) 0288 77 88 016

| product =

| focus = Supporting bereaved parents & their families after a child dies

| method = Voluntary mutual assistance

| revenue = £385,181 (2023-24).[https://www.tcf.org.uk/resources/The-Compassionate-Friends-Annual-Report-and-Financial-Statements-2023-2024.pdf] TCF Annual Report 2023-2024

| endowment =

| num_employees = 9 (2023-24)

| num_volunteers = ca 300 (2023-24)

| subsid =

| owner =

| former name =

| homepage = {{URL|www.tcf.org.uk}}

| dissolved =

| footnotes =

}}

Compassionate Friends UK (TCF) is a peer support group{{cite book|author=Ellen Mitchell|title=Beyond Tears: Living After Losing a Child|url=https://archive.org/details/beyondtearslivin00elle|url-access=registration|date=1 February 2005|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=978-0-312-32829-0|pages=[https://archive.org/details/beyondtearslivin00elle/page/166 166]–}} operating in the United Kingdom. It is a registered charity formed by and for parents whose children have died, irrespective of the child's age at death and the cause of death,Collenberg, Joe. "National Children's Memorial Day"{{cite book|title=Congressional Record, V. 146, Pt. 16, October 13, 2000 to October 24, 2000|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=92ukHzFuiOAC&pg=PA23720|date=May 2005|publisher=Government Printing Office|isbn=978-0-16-074953-7|pages=23720–}} and is independent of any religious, philosophical or government body.{{cite book|author1=Lawrence R. Frey|author2=Dennis Gouran|author3=Marshall Scott Poole|title=The Handbook of Group Communication Theory and Research|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IRAxk7sn258C&pg=PA522|date=8 July 1999|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=978-0-7619-1027-5|pages=522–}}

It has a national helpline and area coordinators, holds local and national meetings (including residential retreats), and operates information services including advice leaflets,{{cite book|author=Celia Hindmarch|title=On the Death of a Child|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ICf6ueiBcp0C&pg=PA159|year=2009|publisher=Radcliffe Publishing|isbn=978-1-84619-403-0|pages=159–}} a web site and a postal lending library. All TCF volunteers and most of the small permanent staff are themselves bereaved parents or siblings.{{cite book|author=Catherine Sanders|title=How to Survive the Loss of a Child: Filling the Emptiness and Rebuilding Your Life|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SoLI36DR3hIC&pg=PA214|date=17 August 2011|publisher=Potter/TenSpeed/Harmony|isbn=978-0-307-57475-6|pages=214–}} TCF works to improve the treatment of bereaved parents in society by educating mental health professionals and informing the public through the publication of books, creation of news reports and dissemination of stories of individual experiences through local media.,.{{cite web|url=http://www.gloucestercitizen.co.uk/Say-say-Stroud-couple-award-winning-films/story-20172174-detail/story.html |title=Say their Name, say Stroud couple behind award-winning films inspired by son Joshua's death |accessdate=12 March 2014}}{{cite web|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/my-son-died-today-its-been-a-whole-year-and-i-still-cant-think-of-three-sadder-words-8992717.html |title=My son died. Today it's been a whole year and I still can't think of three sadder words |accessdate=12 March 2014}} It also co-operates with many charities and other organisations that operate within the sphere of bereavement.

Traditionally, TCF volunteers organise and facilitate local groups that hold regular, free, open meetings in neutral premises. Each group follows TCF's creed, which mandates that bereaved parents, grandparents and siblings attending these meetings need not speak but are free to express their feelings.

More recently TCF has also developed numerous online resources including 12 moderated Facebook groups and many Zoom meetings, for constituencies such as fathers, siblings, and members bereaved by suicide. These remote services expanded greatly during the Covid-19 pandemic, and enable a much wider coverage that can reach isolated individuals wherever they are. Like all TCF's work, the online services are run by volunteers, with operational and administrative support from the office staff, and coordinate with in-person work in a hybrid support model.