Compassionate Communities
A compassionate city is a community that recognizes that all natural cycles of sickness and health, birth and death, and love and loss occur every day within the orbits of its institutions and regular activities. Its residents recognize that care for one another at times of crisis and loss is not simply a task solely for health and social services but is everyone’s responsibility.
A Compassion Community has 3 social Aims. They are;
Recognize all cycles of natural life
Accept that caregiving, dying, death and grieving exists in our everyday activities and interactions
Recognize that care is not only the job of healthcare professionals and social service, but that it is everyone’s business.
Check out this video to help you better understand the idea, benefits and impact of building, and being part of, a compassionate community.
Bills World by Milford Care Facility
- Schools – Will have guidance documents for dying, death, loss and care.
- Workplaces – Will have guidance documents for dying, death, loss and care.
- Trade Unions – Will have guidance documents for dying, death, loss and care.
- Churches and Temples – Will have at least one dedicated group for End Of life (EOL) care.
- Hospices and Nursing Homes – will have community development programs that focus on EOL care and will involve local area citizens.
- Museums and Art Galleries – will hold exhibitions on the experience of ageing, dying, death and loss or care.
- Our city will celebrate and highlight the most creative compassionate organization, event or individual(s) through an incentive scheme, for example a “Mayor’s Award.”
- Through various forms of media, our city will publicly showcase our local government policies, services, funding opportunities, partnerships, and public events that address our compassionate concerns. As well, all EOL services will be encouraged to share this material.
- Our city will work with local social or print media to encourage an annual city-wide short story or art competition to raise awareness of ageing, dying, death, loss or caring.
- All services and policies will demonstrate an understanding of how diversity shapes the experience of ageing, dying, death, loss and care.
- We will encourage and support institutions for the homeless and the imprisoned to have support plans in place for EOL care.
- Our city will establish and review these targets and goals in the first two years. Thereafter will add one new sector annually to our action plan.
• Based on Compassion Cities: Public health and end of life care, by Allan Kellehear
Children’s Grief Awareness Day
Children’s Grief Awareness day is the third Thursday in November. A day that honours the 39,700 children across Canada that experience the death of a parent or sibling each year.
Children’s Grief Awareness Day seeks to bring attention to the fact that in many cases support can make all the difference in the life of a grieving child. It also provides an opportunity for all of us to raise awareness of the painful impact that the death of a loved one has on the life of a child, and creates an opportunity to ensure these children receive the support that they need. The third Tuesday in November is a particularly appropriate time to support grieving children since the holiday season is often an especially difficult time after a death.
To learn more about Children’s Grief Awareness Day, click here.
Butterfly Origami Activity
One of the activities that can be done in honour of Children’s Grief Awareness Day is creating Butterfly Origami as these are also thought to symbolize a person’s essence, or soul, either past, present or future. Butterflies serve as a symbol for grieving children; just as a butterfly emerges from a dark cocoon, a child can find light as they move through grief.
Event Calendar
To learn more about our upcoming events, visit our full calendar.
Compassionate Communities
A compassionate city is a community that recognizes that all natural cycles of sickness and health, birth and death, and love and loss occur every day within the orbits of its institutions and regular activities. Its residents recognize that care for one another at times of crisis and loss is not simply a task solely for health and social services but is everyone’s responsibility.
A Compassion Community has 3 social Aims. They are;
Recognize all cycles of natural life
Accept that caregiving, dying, death and grieving exists in our everyday activities and interactions
Recognize that care is not only the job of healthcare professionals and social service, but that it is everyone’s business.
Limericks Compassionate Communities
Bills World by Milford Care Facility
- Schools – Will have guidance documents for dying, death, loss and care.
- Workplaces – Will have guidance documents for dying, death, loss and care.
- Trade Unions – Will have guidance documents for dying, death, loss and care.
- Churches and Temples – Will have at least one dedicated group for End Of life (EOL) care.
- Hospices and Nursing Homes – will have community development programs that focus on EOL care and will involve local area citizens.
- Museums and Art Galleries – will hold exhibitions on the experience of ageing, dying, death and loss or care.
- Our city will celebrate and highlight the most creative compassionate organization, event or individual(s) through an incentive scheme, for example a “Mayor’s Award.”
- Through various forms of media, our city will publicly showcase our local government policies, services, funding opportunities, partnerships, and public events that address our compassionate concerns. As well, all EOL services will be encouraged to share this material.
- Our city will work with local social or print media to encourage an annual city-wide short story or art competition to raise awareness of ageing, dying, death, loss or caring.
- All services and policies will demonstrate an understanding of how diversity shapes the experience of ageing, dying, death, loss and care.
- We will encourage and support institutions for the homeless and the imprisoned to have support plans in place for EOL care.
- Our city will establish and review these targets and goals in the first two years. Thereafter will add one new sector annually to our action plan.
• Based on Compassion Cities: Public health and end of life care, by Allan Kellehear
Event Calendar
To learn more about our upcoming events, visit our full calendar.
Calling all Knitters to inspire Random Acts of Kindness
A big thanks to all the volunteers who knit these hugs for Heart House so we can share with grieving children and families in our community. What better way to let someone know you are thinking or them by sharing or sending a hug. Learn more here