Dying Matters Awareness Week, 2nd – 6th May

Dying Matters Awareness Week is the perfect opportunity to encourage our friends, family and colleagues to open up conversations about dying and grief. Not an easy conversation!

We hope that we can help to make this a little easier by removing some of the awkwardness and difficulties that stop us from talking about death.  There is one certainty and that is that we will all die eventually and the advantages of talking about it will help more of us die in a better place physically, emotionally, financially, spiritually and crucially, with the right care and support around us.

Right now, we know that people are dying without the levels of support that they need. Since the start of the pandemic, it is estimated that almost 70,000 people have died at home without access to specialist care in the UK. The Covid years have accelerated this issue more than ever, but we know that we can make the conversations about death easier and less awkward by talking, and by sharing our stories.

When we have important, open conversations about dying and grief it helps us remove the taboo and the stigmas that surround them.

Dying Matters Awareness Week reminds us of how important it is to talk about death, dying and grief, and our plans for the end of life, so that more of us can die #InAGoodPlace and we encourage you to start the conversation with your loved ones.

Resources:

• Things to do before you die
• Supporting bereavement
• Let’s talk about dying
• Talking about dying with people affected by dementia
• Talking about dying with children

Here’s a LINK to five BOOKS recommended by Palliative Care Physician Kathryn Mannix, which help us think about dying, death and grief.

Further resources and support organisations:

Griefchat provides emotional support for bereaved people, access to trained bereavement counsellors and referral to other specialist bereavement services. Please be aware that GriefChat is a 3rd party service and you will not be speaking to a Cransley Hospice counsellor, staff member or volunteer. This is an online support service is only available Monday-Friday, 9am-9pm or by email info@griefchat.co.uk out of these hours.

Ataloss helps people who have been bereaved. It includes a search tool for local support, griefchat service, Grablife activity support weekends, bereavement support for men, and support for young people.
ataloss.org

Child Bereavement UK provides information and support (including a helpline) when a baby or child of any age dies or is dying, and when a child is facing bereavement.
childbereavementuk.org

Compassionate Employers is Hospice UK’s workplace support programme, helping organisations and their employees to build an open, compassionate culture to support staff through grief, caring responsibilities, or a life-limiting illness.
www.hospiceuk.org/compassionate-employers

Cruse Bereavement Care is a national charity, which provides support, advice and information to children, young people and adults when someone dies.
cruse.org.uk

The Good Grief Festival is a brilliant community of people talking about grief in a refreshing and honest way, with virtual talks, workshops and webinars held at online festivals throughout the year.
goodgrieffest.com

Hospice UK’s planning ahead tool, developed with palliative care expert Kathryn Mannix and others, leads you, step by step, to think about your values and the things that matter most to you in life and in dying. It will explain some of the treatment decisions that may lie ahead and ask you to think about whether the length of your life, or the quality of the way you live, matters more to you:
hospiceuk.org/latest-from-hospice-uk/new-planning-ahead-tool-launched

Hospice UK’s guide to end of life care provides clear and concise guidance about what to expect, what to ask and where you can get support when you or a loved one are facing the end of life.
hospiceuk.org/information-and-support/your-guide-hospice-and-end-life-care

WAY (Widowed & Young) Foundation is a peer-to-peer support group run by a network of volunteers who have been bereaved at a young age. It runs activities and support groups for people coping with grief.
widowedandyoung.org.uk

Winston’s Wish is a child bereavement charity which offers specialist practical support and guidance to bereaved children, their families and professionals.
winstonswish.org.uk

For further information or support please don’t hesitate to contact our fundraising office on 01536 452423 and one of our team will be happy to help you get in touch with the appropriate care.