News
Theory of Change for Bereavement Signposting
Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief and the Bereavement Charter Group have published a consensus vision and theory of change for improving signposting to bereavement information and support in Scotland.
They were developed by a collaboration of people working in the bereavement sector in Scotland, at ‘Talk to Action’ events held in January and March 2024.
This ‘talk to action’ work followed on from the publication of the Bereavement Summit Report in June 2023, aiming to take one of the 10 summit recommendations and explore in details how it could be turned into reality.
What next?
From the outset it has been clear there is no additional budget for bereavement work, and the ‘talk to action’ work was led by an informal sector collaboration. In the absence of dedicated resources to lead and co-ordinate building on what has been very useful work so far, the Bereavement Charter Group will do what it can within its very limited resources to create further opportunities for cross-sector collaboration on the issues raised within the Bereavement Summit Report. The group is planning a face-to-face event to discuss various bereavement-related issues in Spring 2025, and more details will be available in due course.
PHPCI Community Building Award
Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief has been awarded the prestigious ‘Community Builders’ award by Public Health Palliative Care International.
Last week saw hundreds of delegates gather in Bern, Switzerland for the biennial conference of Public Health Palliative Care International. A new feature of the conference are three PHPCI awards - Community Builder Award; Research Impact Award; and Early Career Researcher Award.
Despite exceptional applications from 15 other nominees from across four continents, the PHPCI judging panel unanimously chose the Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care as the recipient of the Community Builder Award, commenting:
“The Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care’s initiatives align exceptionally well with the community-building principles of public health palliative care in multiple ways.
Their Bereavement Friendly Workplaces Toolkit and Bereavement Charter Mark directly enhance community capacity by equipping organizations with tools to support individuals through grief in the workplace. By encouraging adoption of these resources, they create systemic change that improves the quality of life for bereaved individuals, a key element of public health palliative care.
Secondly, their ‘To Absent Friends Festival’ embodies participatory community building, bringing people together across Scotland to collectively honor and remember those who have died. Its focus on storytelling and communal remembrance fosters a supportive environment where grief and bereavement are openly acknowledged. Now in its 11th year, the festival’s longevity demonstrates the sustained community engagement and positive impact that this 7-day festival has for people across the country.”
“To Absent Friends and the Bereavement Charter Mark for Employers are both collaborative efforts - their impact is the result of the hard work, passion and dedication of volunteers, staff and organisations across Scotland. We are delighted that this work has been recognised by PHPCI.” said Rebecca Patterson, Director of Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief.
EASE wins an award
We’re delighted to announce that End of Life Aid Skills for Everyone (EASE), our public education course on death and dying, has won an award.
Run by the ALLIANCE, the Self Management Awards take place each year to celebrate the best of Self Management support across Scotland. This year, the winners were announced at the Self Management Awards ceremony which took place during Self Management Week on Wednesday 25 September.
EASE won in the category ‘Best Self-Management Resource’ - a category designed to recognise resources that help people to cope with and manage their own condition.
The award is fantastic recognition of the work of all the volunteer facilitators who give up their time to make the course happen in communities across Scotland.
End of Life Aid Skills for Everyone (EASE) is an innovative course enabling people across Scotland to be more comfortable and confident supporting family and community members with issues they face during dying, death and bereavement. It’s delivered free of charge by volunteer facilitators.
EASE uses films, reading, activities and discussion to explore topics such as planning ahead for ill-health, dying and death; common symptoms towards the end of life; and practical support we can offer people who are caring, dying or grieving. Participants learn and share in a supportive environment, helping to build a sense of community and empowerment.
Find out more about EASE here: End of Life Aid Skills for Everyone
To Absent Friends Guide
A new guide has been published to provide inspiration and information for people considering holding an event as part of this year’s To Absent Friends festival.
The guide provides some information about the festival, about the kinds of events that take place, and how you can get involved by holding an event for your own community.
To Absent Friends is a people’s festival of storytelling and remembrance that takes place across Scotland 1-7 November each year. The festival exists to encourage participation. Groups, communities and organisations are welcome to plan events, and these become the To Absent Friends event programme.
To find out more about the festival and how you can get involved, check out our website: To Absent Friends | Hold an event
Small Grants Available
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A small grants fund has been set up to support organisations to put on remembrance events as part of this year’s To Absent Friends festival (1-7 November 2024.)
Two types of small grants (of up to £300) are available:
The fund aims to support activities that provide opportunities for storytelling and/or remembrance of people who have died.
The range of ways in which organisations can participate is wide and varied.
In previous years, events have included concerts, poetry nights, craft activities, storytelling suppers, exhibitions, gardening activities, movies for children and much more. Some ideas of relevant activities organisations might wish to undertake are available in this Guide to Organising an Event, but we also encourage creative and innovative ideas that feel right to local groups and communities.
For more information and to apply, check out the To Absent Friends website: To Absent Friends small grants 2024
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