Introducing the Guide Me Programme
Transforming grief into compassion
Grief is hard. You don't have to carry it alone.
When someone you love dies, it can feel like everything drops on you at once. You might feel sad, angry, numb, scared, sometimes all of it at the same time, sometimes nothing at all. You might be putting on a front at school, sitting with your thoughts, not knowing how to begin to say what you're really feeling.
That's exactly where Guide Me begins.
What is Guide Me?
Guide Me is a 12-week programme, delivered in schools across Enfield and Hertfordshire, for young people aged 11–16 who are grieving the death of someone they love.
It's not therapy. It's not about fixing grief or getting over it. It's about making space for whatever you're carrying and finding small ways forward, together.
We know that talking about feelings, especially with someone you don't know, can be really hard. So we do things differently. Through clay work, body maps, memory games, creative writing, and shared activities, we create the conditions where talking can happen naturally, when you're ready, in your own way.
What happens in the programme?
Over 12 weeks, you'll meet regularly with a small group of young people who are also grieving. Together you'll move through three stages:
Understanding your own grief - making sense of what you're feeling, at your own pace, without judgement.
Building connection - meeting others who get it. Learning that you're not the only one, and that being honest about grief takes real courage.
Giving back - using what you've learned to support others in your school community. Guides have organised football matches, school assemblies, compassion stalls, and art workshops, creating ripples of change that go far beyond the programme itself.
Each young person who completes Guide Me receives 24 hours of creative, therapeutic support.
"You are allowed to feel and be exactly as you are, because that is your experience and no one else's." - G, Age 14
What young people say
What the evidence shows
In Year Two, Guide Me supported 52 bereaved young people across six schools.
Every one of the programme's six core outcomes was achieved:
62%
increase in self-compassion
58%
increase in feeling connected and less alone
50%
improvement in quality of relationships
48%
increase in willingness and ability to help others
44%
increase in confidence to talk about grief
27%
improvement in day-to-day wellbeing
The programme reached over 1,000 young people through peer-led events co-designed by the Guides themselves, young people who came to us carrying grief, and left equipped to help others carry theirs.
9 out of 10 participants said they would recommend Guide Me to another young person who was grieving.
Is Guide Me right for you or someone you know?
Guide Me is for any young person aged 11–16 who has experienced the death of someone they love - a parent, grandparent, sibling, friend, or anyone who mattered.
You don't need to know what to say. You don't need to be ready to talk.
You just need to show up.
