Every year, people around the country use Dying Matters Awareness Week as a moment to encourage communities to get talking about death, dying and bereavement in whatever way, shape or form works for them. Starting conversations about dying is often not as hard as you might think.
For Dying Matters Awareness Week 2023, the country is focusing on Dying Matters at work.
57% of employees will have experienced a bereavement in the last five years, and every day more than 600 people quit work to look after older and disabled relatives. And yet, fewer than one in five managers feel very confident supporting someone they manage with a bereavement.
Check out the Dying Matters video here to see what people are saying.
For further ideas on starting a dialogue, HospiceUK have a short quiz here where you can discover how to have a meaningful and compassionate conversation on the subject with other people at work, in the community or at home.
For our own Colleagues, everyone working for Co-op Funeral Directors, and the wider Chelmsford Star Co-op family, have the support of an organisation called Grocery Aid. This ensures trained counsellors are available around the clock if any of our colleagues ever need support or bereavement advice – as well as many other different types of assistance. For more information on Grocery Aid, check out a previous post here.