PROMPTING END-OF-LIFE CONVERSATIONS IN BRISTOL

A campaign has been launched to help people in the greater Bristol area feel more comfortable about having conversations around death and dying.

Hundreds of woodland burials and ashes interments are carried out at Bristol Memorial Woodlands for local people every year and its funeral directors support families through the process when a loved one dies.

Now a series of television, radio and print advertisements and a new website have been launched to prompt people to have difficult conversations with their loved ones about their wishes at the end of life.

Christopher Baker, who founded Bristol Memorial Woodlands, said: “In the campaign we are using the words expressed by some of those who have recently had to deal with a death in a family. Nobody likes to talk about death but those families that do find it so much easier to arrange a funeral and end-of-life celebration for a loved one.

“Our new website has been designed not just to talk about how we are creating a memorial woodland just outside Bristol but provides practical help and support for people on what to do when someone dies; what bereavement support is available, and both the options and the likely costs people face.

“The most recent national statistics show that only 51% of people arranging a funeral knew whether their loved one wanted a cremation or a burial. Or had ever discussed what their loved one felt might be an appropriate funeral. We want to prompt better conversations to make arranging a funeral easier for those who are left with the task.

“The woodlands are open every day and if people want to come here to walk and talk or sit quietly among the trees it costs nothing and we hope that will prompt conversations around a difficult subject.”

The new website provides information on how to craft a fitting and personalised occasion to mark someone’s passing; information on religious and non-religious ceremonies and where bereavement support can be obtained.

There are also step-by-step guides on what to do depending on whether a person dies at home, in a care home, in a hospital or abroad. The marketing campaign prompts people to make their own plans known and start those difficult conversations with loved ones.

Bristol Memorial Woodlands is a peaceful and dignified funeral setting just 15 minutes from Cribbs Causeway, with 100 acres available for burial or the interment of ashes in the growing woodland as well as receptions rooms and a Chapel. Providing families with a place to visit and remember loved ones for years to come, the team there also provide loss and bereavement workshops to the local community.

The new website can be viewed at www.memorialwoodlands.com