HUGG Walks, our suicide bereavement peer support walking initiative, will be presented as a poster at the European Grief Conference 2026 in Porto, Portugal, this September.
The conference takes place from 9–11 September and brings together researchers, practitioners and educators from across Europe to share learning and develop effective, culturally sensitive approaches to grief and bereavement care. HUGG’s poster, Peer Support in Motion: A Walking Group for Adult Men Bereaved by Suicide, has been accepted under the conference’s Level 2 practice theme, which focuses on providing additional bereavement support through volunteer and community settings.
Finding Different ways to connect
HUGG provides peer support groups for adults bereaved by suicide, offering a structured space where people with lived experience can come together and support one another.
But we know that one approach to support will not suit everyone.
Some people may not feel comfortable joining a traditional support group, particularly when they are newly bereaved or unsure about talking openly about their experience. We wanted to explore whether a more informal, active approach could provide another way for people to connect.
This was particularly important when considering men bereaved by suicide, who can be less likely to access traditional forms of support.
HUGG Walks was developed in response to this need, bringing together movement, nature and peer connection in an informal setting.
Walking, connection and peer support
- HUGG Walks launched in May 2025. Each walk is led by a trained walking guide alongside HUGG volunteers with lived experience of suicide loss. There is no expectation for participants to talk about their bereavement. Instead, the walks provide an opportunity to walk alongside others who understand suicide loss, with conversation and connection developing naturally. Between May and December 2025, 94 people registered for HUGG Walks, with 84 attendances. Nineteen per cent of registered participants were men. For some participants, the connection continued after the walk, with people joining volunteers for refreshments and informal conversation. These early experiences suggest that walking may offer another accessible way for people bereaved by suicide to connect with peer support – including people who may not engage with a traditional support group.
Learning and improving our services
Being invited to share HUGG Walks at the European Grief Conference is an important opportunity to reflect on what we have learned so far and to hear from others working in bereavement care across Europe.
The conference’s focus on practice and community-based support provides an opportunity to share HUGG’s experience while also learning from research and approaches being developed elsewhere.
We are particularly interested in continuing to explore how we can reach people who may not traditionally access suicide bereavement support, and how different forms of peer connection can complement our existing services.
The conference will also give HUGG an opportunity to connect with practitioners, researchers and organisations working in bereavement care internationally, helping us bring new ideas and learning back into our work in Ireland.
HUGG Walks is one example of how we are continuing to ask an important question: How can we make support after suicide accessible to more people, in ways that work for them?
Sharing our learning
Our poster, Peer Support in Motion: A Walking Group for Adult Men Bereaved by Suicide, will be presented at the European Grief Conference in Porto in September.
While further research is needed to understand the psychosocial impact of walking-based peer support, HUGG will continue to learn from participants and volunteers and use that learning to develop and improve our services.
Because postvention is prevention – and reaching people with the right support matters.