Caris Islington

Who we are

Our vision is of a community service open to all in Islington affected by loss.

Caris Islington is a small registered charity (ref 1057737 - income/expenditure around £130,000 a year) which runs two projects in Islington - a Bereavement Counselling Service for children and adults, and a Cold Weather Shelter.

CARIS is based in St Mellitus RC church in London N4, the charity has two full-time and six part-time staff as well as over 600 volunteers of all ages and backgrounds who help with the two projects.

Bereavement Service:

CARIS Islington has been offering free year-round Bereavement Counselling Services to Islington residents since it was first registered as a charity. Islington, in spite of its fashionable image has areas of profound urban deprivation and the Bereavement Counselling Services have seen the demand for their services rising over the last few years.

The Services rely on 50+ volunteers providing free counselling to approx 250 adults and children, year round. Volunteers contribute some 20,000 hours of their time during that period, and CARIS' Bereavement Services co-ordinator and senior counsellors are with them every step of the way throughout that time (from training of volunteers to ongoing supervision during their time counselling clients)

Cold Weather Shelter:

The Islington Churches Cold Weather Shelter is open every year in the winter months. Seven churches in Islington offer hospitality to homeless guests and support them in finding more permanent accommodation. The project is staffed by CARIS coordinators (part-time employees) and 600+ volunteers from the community, and which help to provide shelter and hospitality for over 60 guests each year.

CARIS Islington coordinators work with other voluntary organizations, social and health services to organize the assessment and support of referred homeless guests. CARIS coordinators also prepare and support the shelter volunteers to ensure the smooth organization, best practices and oversight of the shelters.