Coined the End of Life information session, the free community event will feature a number of ‘death experts’, from a funeral director to a bank manager and police officers to a death doula.
Facilitated by Final Embrace Funerals at its Seymour office and chapel at 82 Anzac Ave, the session will air out a range of aspects of death that often go unspoken.
Final Embrace funeral director Dean Saitta said it would enlighten attendees on the many different strategies to prepare for the end of life.
“We have a group of local people that work in this type of area that can guide our older citizens and their families on what their options are,” Mr Saitta said.
“We’ve got some local police and district nurses that will give them advice.
“We’ve got some death doulas and holistic people that will give options or advice around death care where the family will be involved. They (death doulas) are a volunteer that walks beside the family and helps them take care of their loved ones at home and advise them around end-of-life choices.
“We also have legal professionals ... and prepaid financial advisers.”
The session will run in a Q&A style, prompting an open conversation on the subject matter.
A topic riddled with taboo, death often goes undiscussed, even with our closest loved ones.
Mr Saitta said it was important to acknowledge death as a natural aspect of life.
“It’s about trying to get rid of that stigma and open up the conversation about death,” he said.
“It’s inevitable, we all have to go through it.
“We talk about everything else and spend a lot of time on other celebrations of life. This, the end of our life, is a time to reflect and say, ‘wow, what a life it was’.”
Mr Saitta also noted that having this open dialogue was beneficial for loved ones of the dead and dying.
“As a funeral director, what I get a lot from families as they’re arranging the funeral is they don’t know what to do,” he said.
“It’s about bridging this gap between people and having families rest assured that they are doing the right thing because they’ve discussed it.
“It’s important that people have the opportunity to grieve, as well, in their own way.”
The end of life information session will be held on Wednesday, July 23, from 10am.
While it is a free event, seats are limited and booking is essential.
For more information, contact Final Embrace Funerals on 5756 3740 or email info@finalembrace.com.au
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