Every year in May, ‘Dying Matters’ host an awareness week to tackle the taboo subjects of death, dying and bereavement. It helps highlight the importance of these parts of life and puts them firmly on the national agenda. This year the week runs from 13th to the 19th of May and the theme is ‘Are We Ready?’
Dying Matters explain the theme as ‘For 2019, we will ask another question: Are We Ready? It’s a question that challenges each of us on several levels. Are We Ready for our own deaths, or the deaths of those we care about? This is a practical question – wills, funeral planning and more – but of course it’s also emotional, even spiritual for some of us. For many of us, the answer will not be ‘yes’. We know from the research we’ve done that most people haven’t taken care of the practical aspects, which include deciding on organ donation, and planning our future care. And even for those that have, the emotional aspect of being ready for death is challenging. Who is ever really ready to die?’
This year they also have themes for each day to help people talk about things that are often forgotten. Inspired by this, we’ve asked staff from across the hospice to submit a blog post sharing their thoughts on a theme and we will be releasing them this week on our blog!
The themes are:
• Monday – Funeral costs
• Tuesday – Memorialisation
• Wednesday – Grieving for a pet
• Thursday – Support for those who are estranged from/have no family
• Friday – Diversity and inclusion at end of life
We are proud to support this national campaign and join in the conversation every year. This year we will be celebrating ‘Dying Matters’ by:
Holding an Art Exhibition: See information here
Setting up a Market Stall in Barrow: On Friday 17th May as part of Dying Matters week the Family Support and Bereavement team will be in Barrow Market 10am-4pm discussing the question Are we ready to support someone who is grieving? We invite people to come along to engage in the discussion and find out a about our team and the support that we offer. We will also have leaflets and information available as well as showcasing some of the furniture upcycled at our Make, Do and Mend Workshop.
Working with different community teams: There will be an advanced care planning and communication skills training day open to all faith, pastoral care leaders and humanist celebrants. Find out more here