The Brief: Turning ‘Support for Young People’ into Support Shaped By Young People
Cruse Bereavement Support provides guidance and advocacy to help people navigate loss. Grief can be overwhelming at any age, but Cruse recognised that their services needed to work better for young people specifically.
They wanted to get young people involved in shaping services. Particularly, bereavement support that felt relevant, accessible, and honest about what it’s like to grieve as a teenager or young adult.
Cruse Bereavement Services (CBS) commissioned Participation People to help them hear directly from young people aged 14–25 who had experienced bereavement.
When we met in April 2023, CBS shared:
Their desire to listen deeply to young people about what does and doesn’t work
The types of young people they especially needed to reach, including seldom-heard groups
The challenges they anticipated in engaging these young people in conversations about grief
They needed a partner who could design youth-friendly research, run everything from a focus group with young people to one-to-one sessions, and turn all of that insight into clear next steps; equipping volunteers, staff, families, teachers, and professionals with the right guidance.
That’s where Participation People — and our network of young people — came in.
Shaping Services: From First Conversation to Co-Created Change
To make sure we were getting young people involved in a way that was safe, respectful, and meaningful, we designed a comprehensive research and engagement plan.
Designing Youth-Friendly Research
We began by designing a youth market research programme to reach multiple audiences of young people, including:
Those currently using Cruse’s services
Young people who had experienced bereavement but might not be accessing formal support
Young people from diverse backgrounds and experiences
These young people were recruited from spaces they were active in, such as social media pages and youth clubs. And, were allowed to define how they wanted to engage — in groups, individually, online, or face-to-face.
We then co-produced the research questions with our Young Consultants, who youth-proofed the language. This step was key to making sure the research felt clear, sensitive, and accessible.
And finally, we incentivised participation with a £20 Amazon voucher. This reward acted as a thank you for their time, expertise, and emotional labour.
This series of tactics meant young people weren’t just respondents. They were co-creators from the very beginning, truly and authentically shaping services.
Methods: Listening, Learning and Co-Producing with Young People
Our methods included a structured, three-phase approach to engage young people directly and turn their insight into action:
1. Listening Labs
Facilitated discussions where young people shared their lived experiences of bereavement, what support they had (or hadn’t) received, and what they wished had existed.
2. Focus Group with Young People
We ran a focus group with young people as a starting point, then expanded to multiple youth focus groups. These interactive sessions helped us explore ideas in depth, challenge assumptions, and refine what “good support” looked like from a youth perspective.
3. Co-Production Workshops
Collaborative design sessions where children and young people helped shape:
Youth-friendly leaflet design
Website content and messaging for Cruse’s youth offer
Elements of volunteer training programmes, especially for those working with youth
Digital Engagement
We also leveraged online tools and platforms to reach young people who couldn’t attend in person. This gave them flexible ways to share their views at times and in formats that suited them.
Follow-Up Survey
Once the first stage of changes was in place, we ran a final survey to:
Check whether services felt more visible and accessible
Understand changes in young people’s attitudes, confidence, and satisfaction with support
Identify any gaps that still needed attention
What Young People Told Us: Themes from Youth Voice
Our findings can be summarised into several critical concerns and priorities for young people coping with bereavement:
Visibility and Awareness
Bereavement services need to be more visible and accessible to young people, who often feel overlooked in grief conversations.
Online Accessibility
Young people need flexible support options that align with their digital-first lives. These options included online chats, video calls, and self-guided resources.
Diversity and Representation
The youth want to receive support from volunteers they can relate to. This highlights how critical it is for diverse and representative volunteer recruitment.
Empowering Adults Around Them
Parents, carers, and teachers play a vital role in helping young people process grief, yet many lack the understanding to do so effectively. They need tools and guidance to support grieving young people confidently.
Breaking Stereotypes About Support
Young people challenged the idea that bereavement support must only happen in person. Many valued the option of virtual and digital support, especially when talking about grief felt daunting.
The Impact of Shaping Services: From Websites to the First Youth-Led Bereavement Guide
Following our engagement and co-production work with Cruse, youth insight has driven several key developments:
Creation of the first-ever youth-led bereavement guide for young people, increasing awareness of Cruse’s services and signposting key information such as bereavement leave.
Cruse has redeveloped Hope Again, their youth website, turning it into an engaging, youth-friendly platform that speaks directly to young people’s needs.
Services have shifted from predominantly in-person bereavement support to a more accessible hybrid model. This includes online support options and digital resources.
Older volunteers have reported increased confidence in delivering virtual support and connecting with young people online.
A tailored pathway for recruiting and training youth-focused volunteers has been created, addressing diversity gaps and ensuring young people see themselves reflected in their support workers.
Cruse developed the ‘Understanding Your Child’s Bereavement’ course. This equips parents and carers with tools, insights, and practical strategies to support grieving children.
A National Lottery funding bid was submitted for ‘Understanding Your Pupil’s Bereavement’ training, aimed at professionals working with young people in education settings.
Together, these changes show what’s possible when you commit to getting young people involved at every step, not just asking for feedback at the end.
Learnings: Getting Young People Involved Changes the Whole System
We know this to be true: when you get young people involved in decision-making, services become more relevant, more accessible, and more effective.
Through this partnership with Cruse Bereavement Support, we saw:
Youth voice embedded in strategy, not just in “youth projects”
Co-production becoming the expectation rather than the exception
Senior leaders, staff, and volunteers regularly asking, “What did the young people say?” before making decisions
This approach has not only shaped Cruse’s services but has also driven meaningful organisational change. It’s influenced its wider strategic direction and even sparked sector-wide conversations on the importance of youth engagement.
The legacy of this work is clear: as long as Cruse continues to listen to and work with young people — through ongoing youth voice initiatives, focus groups with young people, and co-production — their services will keep evolving to meet real needs, in real time.
Testimonial
“The partnership with Participation People has been a truly transformational experience for Cruse, enabling us to bring youth voice into everything we do. It has had a profound impact on the way we now approach change, with senior leaders, staff, and volunteers now automatically asking ‘What did the young people say?’ to inform how we design and deliver our services. The successful approach to co-production has had a wider impact across organisational strategy development, with the CEO recognising that what has been achieved in shaping our CYP strategy is gold standard and has provided a pathway for the rest of the organisation to follow.
Working with the team at Participation People was a joy, and their knowledge, enthusiasm, and expertise were inspiring and infectious. Without their support, I think we would have had different outcomes, as every step of the way they were able to encourage, support, and inspire, enabling us to see how impactful youth voice can be at every level of the organisation.”
Jennie Buckland, National Strategic Lead, Cruse Bereavement Support
Ready to Get Young People Involved in Shaping Services?
If you’re serious about getting young people involved — not as a tick-box exercise, but as genuine partners — we can help.
Whether you need a focus group with young people, a full youth diagnostic or co-production support, Participation People can:
Connect you with diverse young voices
Design youth-friendly research and engagement
Turn insight into practical, organisation-wide change
Get in touch and let’s co-create what comes next.
