Dying Matters Week this year has been a little bit different for one very obvious reason – COVID-19. But, with creativity and passion, Dying Matters In Essex have produced a number of tools to help people talk about death and dying.
There haven’t been lots of live events to attend, but what has been lacking has very much been made up by the creative and passionate group that we are proud to be a part of – Dying Matters in Essex.
As part of our efforts this year, we’ve pulled together some top tips that we hope will help you in dealing with death and talking about death:
· It’s OK to talk about someone that has died
· You are allowed to be sad, even if the person who died wasn’t your family or friend
· Everyone needs to feel heard
· Sometimes listening is the best support you can offer
· The best way to know what someone needs is to ask them
· It’s OK to feel uncomfortable
· Dying Matters all year round
We’ve made a number of videos, which talk about certain situations that any of us could find ourselves in: Covid-19, Keyworkers, Traumatic and Sudden Death, Carers, Homelessness, Stillbirth & Miscarriage, Mental Health, Terminal Illness. They can all be found here: https://www.huunuu.info/dying-matters-videos and we hope they provide support.
We have begun our Virtual Death Cafes, technology has been our friend, allowing us to video chat with participants. They are running throughout May and can be found here:
https://www.huunuu.info/dying-matters-events
There will be an art exhibition run by the wonderful folk at the Ideas Hub. A living library, which allows people to talk to someone with experience of bereavement or grief. Storyteller, Shane has a wonderful story to share.
It’s been busy, there is more in the pipeline, but as ever, it’s so important to have those big conversations around death and dying, because Dying Matters all year round.
