The Cortes Island DeathCaring Collective works to integrate death as a natural part of community life by initiating conversations, providing education, and encouraging people to plan ahead on issues related to end-of-life, and empowering, guiding, and supporting the practice and process of caring for our own dead and dying, in community. The DeathCaring Collective began on Cortes in 2019, inspired…
This information was mainly extracted from a video by Sarah Kerr from the Centre for Sacred Death Care. A funeral service is a focused intentional ritual that facilitates healing. When done well, it serves the person who has died, the close family and friends, and the larger community. This requires a structure able to hold the depth of grief and…
Although the terms are often used interchangeably, a casket is shaped like a box, while a coffin is tapered and has six sides rather than four. To shroud a body simply means to wrap it in cloth. Although caskets are often purchased from a funeral home, they can be built by friends or family, custom made on the island, ordered…
A DeathCaring Collective intention, within and for our community, is ‘death as part of life’. Death is often difficult, scary, and overwhelming. It is natural for us to want to distance ourselves from the pain of it, and there is an underlying belief in our culture that suffering can be avoided. It takes a lot of courage, and usually significant…
Some people who are critically ill need an organ transplant to live. But there are a lot more organs needed than are available. Many people choose to donate organs upon their death. The best way to record your decisions to be an organ donor is by registering with the BC Transplant Organ Registry. This ensures that health care providers in…
Many of us would like to die in our own home. Although it may not always be possible, it is far more likely when one is prepared. Much of this information also applies to a death in a hospital or care facility, as the body can be returned home. If the death of your loved one is expected within a…
From Atul Gawande, a book that has the potential to change medicine – and lives. The following book description is from Atul Gawande’s website: Medicine has triumphed in modern times, transforming the dangers of childbirth, injury, and disease from harrowing to manageable. But when it comes to the inescapable realities of aging and death, what medicine can do often runs…
The following was written by Lorraine Fracy, who manages Woodland at Royal Oak Burial Park in Victoria. 15 years of Green Reflections…. Watching Mother Nature at her finest has been an awe-inspiring journey here at Royal Oak Burial Park. 500 plus bodies tucked into our beautiful space replanted with big leaf maples, dogwood, garry oaks and numerous native ground cover…
As you think about being kind to those you leave behind, consider the question of what a “good death” might look like for you. Would you prefer to die at home, surrounded by friends and family, if that were possible? Or would you like just one or two people by your side, and if so, who? If there is pain…
Medical assistance in dying has been legal in Canada since 2016. In 2021, Parliament approved expanding the eligibility criteria to include those with a mental disorder as their sole underlying condition. That change was to come into effect in March 2023, but the government paused it for another year in the face of widespread concerns over possible consequences. On Feb…