Food For Thought Groups…

Food for Thought Discussion Groups

 

Just reading the name Death Café makes me wonder if that phrase encourages attendance or scares people away?

I have come up with a term that is more inviting and open for interpretation: Food for Thought Discussion Groups.

To me, these groups would be for those 18+ and focus on discussions, but the topic can be anything related to loss, death, dying or end of life planning with no specific guidelines or rules.

The groups would go as the participants wish. A support group for those who have had family members, close friends, patients/clients or pets die. It can be a group to focus on various topics; writing a will, advance care directives, training opportunities, raising awareness of the topic and subjects of death and dying, sharing of books or poetry that were helpful.

A funeral home director could come and discuss arranging a funeral and what is involved. Perhaps resources are needed, referrals, networking; the list could include notaries, lawyers, counselors, social workers, psychologists, grief and bereavement specialists, and someone to talk about the alternatives to traditional burial.

Loss in general could also be a topic within these groups. Loss of health, loss of employment, loss of a relationship, financial loss, divorce, shared custody of children, loss of a home whether from fire, flood, eviction.

The name comes from the first book, as we ended it with a chapter titled: Food for Further Thought. Has a nice ring to it, eh? (Yes, that is a Canadian expression!)

We hope individuals, whether a professional or non-professional are willing to try a group once before saying ‘no way’ or at least come and see what it is all about.

This is my goal and my mission as NorthernMSW (northernmsw.wordpress.com). My company and blog will focus on raising awareness about death and dying, loss, provide training opportunities for professionals and non-professionals, facilitate discussion groups, assist with memoir writing/journaling and make referrals as needed.

This can be in groups or 1:1 support to the dying individual, caregivers or family and can include organization of one’s personal belongings and assistance with writing an advance care directive and will. Both will still require a notary to finalize.

In 2019,  I began a Food for Thought Group here in Montreal, obtained donated space, and hosted 3 sessions. I ran it in my local community, but had to stop for health reasons. Read my post, Moving Forward from March 2, 2020 to understand more about me.

I had also begun planning for and begun a side business MSWWrites in Fall 2018, to focus on this and my mission to raise awareness and get discussions flowing about loss, death, dying, and end of life.

But, life gets in the way, accidents happen, we heal, recover, and move on and here I am in March of 2020!

I still have the same vision, have returned to my roots, and so the NorthernMSW blog is back (started in 2012) and consultation business planning begins again. Time to return to my original plan from 2018…