Local families who live and care for children with life-limiting illness or who have experienced the death of a child can find support at the upcoming Compassionate Communities Workshop.
Hosted by Bundaberg Regional Council in collaboration with Hummingbird House, Wesley Mission Queensland and Wide Bay Hospital and Health Services, this free workshop will take place at the Bargara Cultural and Community Centre on Saturday 20 May.
The workshop will feature practical strategies from professional caregivers for supporting carers, parents and grieving people.
There will also be talks from parents and carers with lived experience as well as opportunities to reflect and connect with other people who can provide support and community.
Noelyne and Allan Davis are a local couple who were part of the working group to help support this event and will also be on the panel at the workshop.
“Saturday’s event is to try and show the community that death is a part of living,” Noelyne said.
“It used to be that the community would come together at that time but now death has become quite hospitalised and it can leave you feeling very isolated.”
Noelyne and Allan’s two-year-old son Cameron died in 1995 and their 18-year-old daughter Lily has been living with a life-limiting condition since birth.
They said they had received wonderful support from Hummingbird House over many years and hoped that the upcoming workshop could offer a similar sense of community to those who may be feeling alone in their grief.
“We feel like we can help because we understand what it’s like to be bereaved parents and we have a child who needs paediatric palliative care,” Noelyne explained.
“We’re trying to create a safe space for the community to ask those difficult questions and have those conversations with people in similar circumstances.
“It’s ok to ask and we should be asking and open to realising these are important things to know about our loved ones.”
Compassionate Communities Workshop
Where: Bargara Cultural and Community Centre, Hughes Road, Bargara
When: Saturday 20 May 2023, 10 am – 1 pm
Cost: None, complimentary refreshments provided
RSVP: 4130 4158 or email comdev@bundaberg.qld.gov.au
