The first World Compassionate Communities Day was celebrated on 1 November 2022 in recognition of the Compassionate Communities movement. The movement promotes death and dying, loss and care as everyone’s responsibility.
The day builds on the momentum of the growing number of Compassionate Communities projects and programs happening worldwide. A compassionate community can take the form of a walking group, gardening group or any other community lead initiative that gives space for conversation, support and empowerment in end-of-life discussions and decisions.
Compassionate Communities aim to:
- Normalise death as a part of life.
- Facilitate empowerment and informed decision making at end-of-life.
- Promote better support at home and reduced reliance on institutional medical services at end-of-life.
- Break down the myths and fear surrounding conversations about death and dying by promoting ways to talk about end of life.
- Promote choice around the kind of death a person wants.
- Make it easier to ask for support and where to go to find it.
MND NSW support the Compassionate Communities movement. We make space for compassionate communities to grow in the work we do, including our Advisor program and Support Groups, as well as our Carer program and in the resources we develop.
MND Australia, in partnership with MND NSW, recently released - End of life Care: A a guide for people living with MND. The guide includes chapters on:
- What do I need to know?
- Things I'm likley to experience.
- What my family, friends and others close to me need to know.
- What else might I need to consider.
- How do I get more help?
End of life care: A guide for people living with MND
Find out more: