Belleville, IL Death Cafe
A write up of Belleville, IL Death Cafe
By maggieboone
The August 15, 2015 Belleville Death Cafe was inspiring. Attendance was down a bit, but we still had 9 members show up including one of the new members from last meeting. The discussion opened with an update on the Before I Die walls - 2 walls are ready to be constructed. The one at Miscellaena House Cafe that we originally thought would be up by 8/15 had a slight funding snafu but we decided to scale down that wall so it can go up before the wall at Southwestern Illinois College. I believe the construction is waiting on the labor part since the materials have been purchased from previous donations. As a recap on the College wall - construction begins on 10/5 and will be unveiled on 10/12 after the big art exhibit so it doesn't get overshadowed by the art exhibit on 10/10.
New discussion on the grieving process was held because so many of the members have been touched by the death of a close, and beloved family member. We were fortunate once again to have Diana back with us from Heartlinks (a grieving center at Family Hospice in Belleville). Members discussed their personal grieving journey as well as the various ways of memorializing their loved ones.
Appreciation was expressed for having the Death Cafe - a venue to discuss things not understood and misunderstood about death and the death process. Having a couple members of Hospice organizations has really helped members understand some of the misguided ideas of dealing with terminal family members and explaining how important it is to have open discussions with family members, including the one who may be dying. People who find out their time is limited are afraid and if we do not open up and let them talk about it, and help us find out what they need from family and friends, then the opportunity to help the dying family member come to terms with their inevitable death and show them how much they are loved and will be missed, will be lost and it is something that we never get back. This causes another problem with death - survivors and survivor guilt.
Our next meeting will be held on September 26, 2015. Same place, same time! We hope to see you there