Friday, 6 May 2016

Dying Matters Awareness Week 2016

it takes a village...

9 - 15th May


If ‘it takes a village to raise a child’, it also takes a village to support someone who is dying and their family. For this year's Dying Matters Awareness Week, we will be celebrating everyone who has ever cared for someone who has died, and ask you to share your stories.

We have adopted the theme ‘it takes a village’ from Scotland’s Good Life Good Death Good Grief as it fits better with the work we’re doing on Compassionate Cities and the Dying Well Charter. Dying Matters are using the theme ‘The Big Conversation’ and again using the #YODO (You Only Die Once)

Our events run from Monday 9th to Friday 13th May. We have partnered with Sunflowers CancerSupport, Siren Café, World Museum Liverpool and Marie Curie Hospice Liverpool to deliver a range of events and activities across the five days.

On Monday 9th May from 12pm (note revised time which differs from poster) Sunflowers are hosting a Meet the Owls event for anyone living with or beyond cancer. Relax in the company of the owls from Hack Back CIC. This opportunity is for over 18s only and is free for anyone affected by cancer (patients, survivors and carers). Places are limited so please book your place by emailing ekennedy@liverpoolsunflowers.com or visit the Sunflowers website #lifebeyondcancer

Image taken from Hack Back CIC

Tuesday sees us back at the popular Siren Food and Coffee Bar on St James Street from 3-5pm with an open table with cake and tea. We’ll be displaying our Day of the Dead photographs and decorated skulls and remembering our late loved ones whilst sharing stories of compassion and care happening around our city. Our new Topic of Death Cards will be available to play alongside our 5 Things booklet and promotional magnets and bookmarks.

Image taken from Siren Liverpool

We also want to collect your stories of local end of life heroes - whether it is looking after an aging parent, working as a nurse, or cooking a meal for a bereaved neighbour, every day, people help each other through the difficult times that can come with death, dying and bereavement.

We’ll be back briefly at Sunflowers to ask their existing art group to produce some compassionate art relating to end of life. Then we’ll be over in the Wirral for their End of Life Care – One Year On event to see how the other side of the river are delivering their work on the Dying Well Charter and Compassionate Cities.

Thursday we’ll be hosting a stall in the World Museum from 3-5 called ‘Meet the Mayas’. Our collaborative art piece from the Day of the Dead craft celebrations in February will be on display alongside some skulls, ancient artefacts and personalised photo frames honouring the dead. You can also join us for a game of cards – our new Topic of Death Cards, which have proved extremely popular.

Our collaborative art piece is almost complete

Marie Curie Hospice Liverpool have organised an event to thank their supporters who have made such a positive difference in helping them to support people living with a terminal illness. This celebratory event, ‘It takes a community’, is on Friday from 4-7pm in the hospice, which is situated in the beautiful Woolton Village.

Marie Curie Hospice Liverpool

We hope you can join us at one or more of our events. Even if you can’t make it, we’d still like to hear your stories about how people in your village have helped someone nearing end of life. Please email rachael.mcmeacock@mariecurie.org.uk if you want to get involved. Let’s share the love and compassion.



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