The Wake Up to Dying Project comes to Brattleboro

WUTD logoThe Wake Up to Dying Project

Traveling Exhibit & Workshop Schedule

 

 

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EXHIBIT HOURS*

 

Thursday & Friday, June 25 – 26th,

11:00am – 8:00pm

Saturday, June 27th,

10:00am – 8:00pm

Sunday, June 28th,

10:00am – 5:00pm

 

*PLEASE NOTE: The audio portion of the exhibit will be turned off during workshop hours (see below). It will remain on during community dialogues and during the kid & family workshop. The doors will remain open during workshops for visitors to explore other exhibit offerings.

[box] click here for general info on the Wake Up to Dying Project  on their website[/box]

COMMUNITY DIALOGUE 

EVERYDAY  – Thursday, June 25th through Sunday June 28th, from 12:30 – 1:30pm

There will be open, facilitated dialogues happening daily at the event site. Bring a brown bag lunch for your opportunity to converse about death, dying, and life!

WORKSHOP SCHEDULE

All workshops at the River Garden

 

Living Well – Dying Well

Thursday, June 25, 5:30 – 7:00pm

What does “living well, dying well” mean to you? To your family? What does it mean individually, and in community? Community members and end-of-life care professionals share what they have learned, offering an opportunity for participants to consider what living well and dying well mean to them.

Panelists:

Carole Lechthaler, RN,MS, CS – Facilities Coordinator, Visiting Nurse and Hospice for Vermont and New Hampshire

Stewart McDermet – Hospice Volunteer, Brattleboro Area Hospice

Connie Moser, MDiv. – Bereavement Coordinator & Spiritual Counselor, Bayada Hospice

Michele M. Rowland, RN, MSN, LICSW – Director of Quality, Brattleboro Memorial Hospital

Facilitator:

Connie Baxter – Bereavement Care Coordinator, Brattleboro Area Hospice

Walking Each Other Home: Stories of Caring for the Dying

Friday, June 26, 5:30 – 7:00pm

Ram Dass once said, “When all is said and done, we’re all just walking each other home.” Come hear personal stories in letter form, told live by those who have cared for others at end-of-life. Letters are presented by professional caregivers and neighbors from your community followed by an open dialogue with the presenters.

Facilitator: Dr. Bob Backus, MD – Grace Cottage Family Health

Creative Exploration of Death and Dying for Kids and Families

Saturday, June 27, 10:00am – 12:30pm

Young people will have the opportunity to create an item/memorial for pets, grandparents, parents, siblings, and other loved ones who have died. They will be encouraged to share their experiences with facilitators and other children. Drop in anytime – stay as long or as little as you like.

Facilitator: Harriet Tepfer, MA – Children’s Grief Counselor

Assistant: Collin Leach – Children’s Grief Volunteer

It’s Your Funeral – Do it Your Way!

Saturday, June 27, 1:30 – 3:00pm

Come learn about the wide variety of choices for funeral and memorial rituals, body disposition, and burial. Explore after-death planning documents, and begin to ponder how to design this experience for a loved one, or for yourself.

Panelists:

Krista Marshall – Home Funeral Guide, Evening Star

Josh Slocum – Executive Director, Funeral Consumers Alliance

Lee Webster – Director, New Hampshire Funeral Resources; President, National Home Funeral Alliance; Board Member, Green Burial Council

Spiritual Perspectives on Death, Dying, and Life

Saturday, June 27th, 7:00 – 8:30pm

How do spiritual beliefs help us think about death, and live better? Join in on a facilitated dialogue about death, dying, and life with spiritual leaders from the community.

Panelists:

Maggid David Arfa – Storyteller; Director of Education, Congregation Beth Israel, North Adams, MA

Cheryl Wilfong – Teacher, Vermont Insight Meditation Center; Hospice Volunteer

Susie Webster-Toleno – Spiritual Counselor, BAYADA Hospice; Pastor, Congregational Church of Westminster West (UCC)

Death and Documents: The Business of Dying

Sunday, June 28, 1:30 – 3:00pm

You know you need to do it….An introduction to the practical “business” elements of aging and end-of-life planning, including wills, trusts, power of attorney, guardianship, health care proxy, advanced directives, assisted living facilities, and relevant insurances. Take care of it now so that your family doesn’t have to later!

Panelists:

Joseph F. Cook, Esq. – Corum Mabie Cook Prodan Angell & Secrest PLC

Megan S. Hawthorne, LCSW – Visiting Nurse and Hospice for Vermont and New Hampshire

Cindy Jerome – Executive Director, Holton Home

Joanna Rueter, LICSW – Founder/Director, Sustainable Aging, LLC; Certified Facilitator/Instructor of Respecting Choices®

End-of-Life Planning: One-on-One Q&A Session

Sunday, June 28, 3:00 – 5:00pm

Here’s your opportunity to meet with experts one-on-one to receive information and guidance about end-of-life planning documents and decisions. Start on your advance directive, learn how to appoint a health care proxy, ask questions about physician-assisted death, and/or review an estate planning checklist. Drop in anytime – bring your questions! Several professionals from different backgrounds will be available to answer your questions

EXTRA – COMMUNITY DEATH CAFE!

 Death Cafe, Wednesday, June 24th, 7:00 – 8:30pm
The Works – 118 Main Street, Brattleboro

Brattleboro Area Hospice is hosting a Death Cafe – This is an opportunity for community to come together in a relaxed comfortable atmosphere, sipping drinks, munching treats, and sharing respectful, engaging, thought provoking and life affirming conversation.

More information about Death Cafes:  Death Cafe Returns to Brattleboro

WORKSHOPS AND DIALOGUES BROUGHT TO YOU BY OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS:

Brattleboro Area Hospice (lead partner), BAYADA Hospice, Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, Holton Home, Visiting Nurse and Hospice for Vermont and New Hampshire.