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World Compassionate Communities Day

November 1 marks the first World Compassionate Communities Day and to highlight and raise awareness of the day we’re encouraging people to talk about compassionate communities and find out more about them.

What are compassionate communities?

Compassionate Communities are a core part of public health approaches to palliative care, end-of-life care, and bereavement.

World Compassionate Communities Day aims to build on the momentum of the growing number of Compassionate Communities projects and programmes.

We want to use the day to start conversations around compassionate communities and highlight the strength our communities have and the role they can play in the care of people at end of life, their families and carers through the experiences of dying, caring and grief. 

Could you have a conversation?

To help raise awareness and create more understanding around Compassionate Communities we need people to talk and connect with one another. Compassionate Communities exist all around us, we might even be part of one without even knowing.

This World Compassionate Communities Day we’re encouraging people to get together, could be over dinner, lunch or even some coffee and cake and discuss these three questions:

What would you like to do before you die?

What made the biggest difference to a loved one towards the end of their life?

If you could pledge one thing to support others in your community experiencing the end of life, caring or bereavement, what would it be?

Visit the World Compassionate Communities Day website

When's good to talk?

Quite often our best discussions are accompanied by food, if you are getting together with friends or families around World Compassionate Communities Day, then why not make a meal, lunch, snack or cake part of it?

And we can help you with inspiration.

A few years ago our staff and volunteers kindly shared their favourite recipes which were made into a cookery book.

You can view a PDF version of the book by clicking on the link below. We hope you find something tasty.  

The recipe book

St Nic's conversation

On Monday we'll be sharing a video of a conversation some of our staff and a guest from another hospice had when discussing the three questions around dying, death and grief

 

Watch the video

Acts of kindness and the difference they can make

Working in partnership we’ve created a video that highlights the ways people can support each other when facing dying, caring and grief.

Alongside colleagues from Suffolk County Council and Offshoot Films, St Nicholas Hospice Care’s Hospice Neighbours Team has created a video showing the importance of neighbourliness and how small acts of kindness really can make a difference.

Watch the video

Talking Together About Dying

The pandemic has shown us how people can become ill quickly, often separated from family and friends with no time to think through what is important to them if they were dying.

We’ve pulled together some information and guidance, which may help to support your conversations with loved ones, relatives or healthcare professionals about care planning and what’s important to you.

 

Read our Talking Together About Dying Guidance

Checklist of Wishes

As well as having your Will prepared, the Checklist of Wishes allows you to share other thoughts, such as funeral arrangements and other instructions or considerations that you wish to make known after your death.

You might find it useful to look through the document during any conversations you may have.

 

View the Checklist of Wishes here

Children and young people

Life's Questions

The Hospice’s Life’s Questions initiative, which gives young people the chance to discuss life’s challenges openly by recognising that children need to have the opportunity to talk about difficult subjects such as death, divorce, loss and grief, started in 2017, since then it has continued to grow. 

Staff and volunteers visit schools across the area, giving students of all ages the chance to have discussions in a safe environment.

Find out more about Life's Questions
Three children running happily through a forest

Having conversations with children and young people about dying, death and grief

Don’t leave it until someone has died if you can to talk to your child about death and dying before.

Preparing them allows families to create an environment of open and honest communication and builds trust.

The Hospice’s Family Support Team have pulled some resources together, which you may find useful.

Resources from our Family Support Team
Grave-talk

GraveTalk

GraveTalk is an opportunity for learning from one another in a safe environment where questions can be shared and discussed.

GraveTalk is usually run over a 5 session block where we will look in-depth at Life, Death, Society, Funerals and Grief. On Thursday, 4 November, we’ll be running a taster session that will give an overview of what will be discussed and shared during the weeks.

This is a chance to join us and see if you would like to explore GraveTalk further. GraveTalk sessions run free of charge, but you will need to register your attendance.

 

Find out more and register