I always felt that it was never the 'done' thing to talk about death and funerals, however I have noticed it is now the norm to discuss this. I was tasked to organise a dying matters event in the local community by public health which gives people of all ages the information to inform them about planning for either their own or their families end of life care and even funeral planning. I was extremely nervous about this as I wasn't sure how it would be received by the general public.
My initial thoughts were that people would be disengaged and reluctant to discuss issues at the event. However I was surprised when I saw people engaging with the services present including solicitors and funeral directors.
One gentleman in particular who attended with his wife explained he only attended the event in order for his wife to meet some of the local community groups present and to socialise. John approached me at the end of the event and explained how relieved he had felt having spoken to the solicitors regarding writing a will. John had arranged an appointment with the solicitors to meet up the following week to go over some of the detail. John felt as though 'a weight had been lifted of his shoulders'. John was at the event by default as he was taking his wife. The fact that he had taken something positive away with him and actually put some things in place for planning towards end of life care showed th event was well recieved. It wasnt only John who made positive comments but there was a number of people who felt they benefitted from attending.
It seems that 'dying matters campaign' is really needed as people do benefit from them.
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