Illawarra and Shoalhaven residents are being encouraged to start conversations around death in order to break through the stigma that surrounds it.
Death Café offers a safe environment to ask questions and gain knowledge about the topics of death, dying and bereavement while enjoying a beverage and cake.
Death Café facilitators Carolyn Vaughan and Jordan Lukey held an event on August 26 at Corrimal Library and encouraged residents of all ages to drop into the cafe for a chat.
“Death café in its simplest form is a space that’s created where people can come along and talk, share, listen and develop an understanding regarding end of life,” Ms Vaughan said.
The Illawarra Death Cafe movement was fortified in 2020 with compassionate communities being set up, and soon enough 17 Death Cafes were rolled out within a 3-month period through the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District.
“As a result of that and out of the interest that was generated from those sessions we’ve continued on, because people are asking, they want the conversations, and they’re really well attended,” Ms Vaughan said.
Although the topic of death is typically associated with older people, Death Café facilitator Jordan Lukey wants to continue to share the opportunity with young adults and continue the trend started at the University of Technology in Sydney.
“Often, it’s a lot of older people or people with life experience that are drawn to the conversation because they’re planning for themselves or supporting other people,” Mr Lukey said.
“But what actually came up was Covid and that loss of freedom, loss of community, loss of a lot of things and then it might be unresolved grief.
“Also, the thing about not knowing what to say where friends have lost parents or grandparents and there’s just no words.”
Death Cafe attendee Kathryn Fyfe was happy to share her thoughts on the event.
“It was very impactful,” Ms Fyfe said.