Compassionate Communities

A Compassionate Community is a community that is at ease with itself in talking about the issues arising from ageing and sickness and is an active approach to community development. It actively involves citizens in their own end-of-life care and support concerns and solutions. In the process this can change social environments, cultures, conduct and attitudes towards end of life experiences and self-care and the potential to greatly reduce pressures on over stretched Statutory Health, Social services and Third sector supports with citizens who are informed and able support each other to think about, talk about and write down their future care plans. Planning for our future care-needs involves talking about death, dying, caring and grief and this is a topic that is not addressed very well by the general population. In addition there is a lack of facilitated support to enable individuals, families and groups to talk about these issues together and to take control and responsibility for our own health care in the future.