Dying Matters is a coalition of individual and organisational members across England and Wales, which aims to help people talk more openly about dying, death and bereavement, and to make plans for the end of life.
Their strap-line is Let’s Talk About It, and in the past they’ve had themes like The Big Conversation and Talk, Plan, Live. For this year and this season’s Awareness Week (11-17 May), they are encouraging us all to look at the other half of a conversation: how do we respond when someone wants to discuss death, or grief, or their will or funeral plans with us?
The 2020 theme of Dying To Be Heard will focus on how to help by listening. How many people want to talk about death, but feel they have no one to talk to about it? How many people are Dying To Be Heard?
It’s too easy to dodge that conversation with a joke or a “maybe later.” But we know it’s hard for people to talk about death and the practical aspects of getting ready for it. So when someone wants to talk about death, we owe it to them to be the other half of that conversation. If they want to talk, we need to listen. You can find out more about this work and how you can get involved in the conversation… how you can be a better listener when someone is dying to be heard, by checking out the links and resources HERE.
Dying Matters is led by Hospice UK and aims to raise awareness of dying, death and bereavement. Dying matters… End of Life care, for those who are dying, their relatives/carers and staff, is one of the core activities for healthcare chaplains. FCG hosted the round-table discussion concerning end of life care and they were very well received.
(photo by Sara Iles, FCG Media Support Officer)