Staying safe on the Online Community

General chat
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Hello everyone,

We have noticed that recently there have been times where members share their locations, or offer to share contact details through private messages.

While it is absolutely okay to want to connect with local members, have more private conversations and to make friends, it’s important to say safe. So we wanted to remind you of our guidelines on protecting your privacy.

In our Terms and Conditions, we say:

We encourage users to keep communications within the community because we have staff and moderators who work to keep the community safe and supportive. We’re unable to moderate anything outside of this platform. This means that when communication is taken offline, or outside of the community, we can no longer keep you and our members safe.

  • The community is public and it’s not necessary to become a member in order to read posts. Please be careful with your personal information and be mindful of sharing information or photos that may identify you.
  • Don’t use your email address as your username and do not post your contact details on the community (we will remove them) - and of course please do not share anyone else’s personal information.
  • Think about your safety if you ever arrange to meet people you have met on any online community. If you are doing this, always tell someone else about your plans.
  • Staying anonymous is the best way to protect your privacy. We will remove things that could identify you, such as details of where you live, contact information, social media profiles etc. It is however okay for you to use a photo of yourself or your loved one as your profile image if you are comfortable doing so.
  • It’s also okay to share contact information through private messaging. However, if you receive unsolicited messages asking for your details, or feel under pressure from another user to provide them, please flag the message to us or contact us at online.community@sueryder.org
  • We will only share the information you provide to us with other people or organisations in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
  • Confidentiality and privacy are fundamental to the community. However, there are some circumstances where it is our policy to pass on information. These include:
  • If we suspect a child may be at risk from harm.
  • If a user is at serious risk of harm, either from themselves or others.
  • If a user threatens or abuses our moderators, staff, other community users or named users of the public (e.g. medical professionals).

For legal reasons, we keep confidential records of any safeguarding incidences.

If you ever have any questions, need some support to use the community, or just want to chat, please do private message me or email me at online.community@sueryder.org

Take care,
Seaneen

3 Likes
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Totally agree with all that you have said regarding staying safe online and within this chat community BUT…, since my wife of 44 years died, I yearn for human contact. Not dating, just somewhere to belong. A local community, not hobbyists or religious groups, not romance, not local pubs or clubs with lots of happy couples. Not family, although i am fortunate to have a wonderful family. No, I need a local meet with people just like myself, online perhaps initially but then need to physically socialise safely - face to face with people just like me. Can Sue Ryder facilitate something like this on a national level? In fact, should you choose to post this message, you may find thousands more of your members may be seeking exactly this.

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We need a safe, moderated physical, in person,
local meeting place for bereaved people like ourselves - nationwide. Staffed by local volunterrs, moderated and organised by local volunterrs. Daily or regular meetings to accommodate all. Dip in, dip out. Everybody welco.e.

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Hello @GBUK,

Thank you for your post and sharing your thoughts.

Sue Ryder has just launched our Grief Kind Spaces.

Our Grief Kind Spaces are weekly, in-person drop-in sessions held in the local community and run by trained volunteers. The sessions provide a safe, informal and supportive place for people to come together and share their experiences of grief, helping attendees to feel heard and less alone.

If you’re not in an area with a Grief Kind space, or are looking for a different kind of support, you might want to check out the AtALoss website. It is a directory of bereavement support, including support groups. If you click this link then select your region, you can see what bereavement support is available in your area.

Your council’s website should also have information on local bereavement support. If you search for “your council name + bereavement”, you can find your council bereavement support page.

I hope this is helpful - take good care,

Seaneen