The South West Compassionate Communities Network was founded in August 2018.
What is a Compassionate Community?
Professor Allan Kellehear is the founder of the Compassionate Communities approach to End of Life care. He talked to us about what this involves at our launch in 2018.
Purpose
Every person, every family and every community in the South West of Western Australia knows what to do when someone is caring, dying or grieving.
Vision
Our local communities are death literate, socially connected and can take practical actions to care for each other in illness, death and grief.
Mission
- Foster social connection as people age and build and draw upon formal and informal networks.
- Provide spaces and opportunities where it is acceptable for people to talk about illness, death and grief.
- Create a culture where it is acceptable to ask for and offer help.
- Place a person and their naturally occurring networks at the centre of care.
- Acknowledge that people’s end-of-life wishes are known and supported in a way that is valid for them.
- Support diversity, recognising old traditions and modern practices.
- Take an assets/strengths based community development approach that involves acknowledging/activating what already exists and building upon it.
- Support co-operation between formal services and the community, with community members being central to the process.
Our Team
The South West Compassionate Communities Network is led by a Committee made up of a diverse group of passionate local people committed to progressing the concept of Compassionate Communities in the South West.
Our Network is run by volunteers. Learn more about our team.
Constitution
A copy of our current constitution can be downloaded here.