Creating compassionate communities
Engaging your community
When it comes to palliative care, the health care system is only part of the equation. Pallium’s community tools and resources help community champions create more supportive environments in their communities for patients, caregivers and their families experiencing serious illness, dying and grieving.
Everyone has a part to play
Family caregivers in Canada provide more than 80% of care needed by patients with serious illness or long-term conditions. As Canada’s population continues aging rapidly, the number of caregivers and the support needed from those caregivers will increase.
Whether you’re a community member, health care professional, or someone passionate about making a difference, our tools and resources are designed to help create more supportive environments in your communities for patients, caregivers and their families experiencing serious illness, dying and grieving.
What is a Compassionate Community?
Compassionate Communities respond to local community needs and empower individuals to provide important physical, emotional, social, spiritual and practical support to patients, families and their caregivers.
At its core, a Compassionate Community is about improving the quality of life for people with a life-limiting illness and their families by widening the circle of caring and encouraging people to advocate and provide assistance and practical support within their communities.
1 in 10
Canadians provide care to someone with a serious illness.
35%
of the Canadian workforce (6.1 million people) are juggling work and caregiving responsibilities.
1 in 4
caregivers report fair or poor mental health
Living Well Until the End: The Role of Community
The Honourable Sharon Carstairs shares her thoughts on the importance of palliative and end-of-life care in Canada and the role of community in shaping change.
How can you launch a Compassionate Community?
Compassionate Community toolkits
Compassionate Communities across Canada help patients and caregivers as they experience dying, death, caregiving and grieving.
Launch a Compassionate Community in your town, city, faith community or within your immediate circle of friends with the help of our free and easy-to-use toolkits.
Resources for caregivers
Our Care Connections Program provides support to the millions of Canadians who provide care to family members, friends, and their community. These free resources empower Canadians to better support the caregivers in their lives and to help strengthen the important social connections within our communities.
Tools for the workplace
The need for compassion in the workplace is greater than ever. The Compassionate Workplace Campaign provides practical turnkey activities, tools, and resources to engage your employees around these issues, and build skills for engaging in difficult and supportive conversations in the workplace.
Talking About Death Never Killed Anyone
Facing the challenges of an aging population and stretched health care resources, Florence Campbell used Pallium’s Compassionate Community Startup Toolkit to start Compassionate Communities, Kingston, fostering a more compassionate community with a clear action plan.
”People will say they want to help but they don’t know how. We want to give our community the confidence, education and awareness that will make it easier for people to help one another.
Florence CampbellCompassionate Communities, Kingston
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