We are working toward Compassionate Communities in our region.
What is Compassionate Community?
A Compassionate Community is one where the community works together and understands that caring for one another through the ageing journey is not a task solely for health and social services. The more people who know about the support available in our community, the more we can all support each other.
Compassionate Communities are communities in which everyday people play a vital role in the care and support of people as they age and at end-of-life. It is a globally recognised approach to improving the end-of-life experience for people by mobilising local networks, groups and services to be more conscious, aware and equipped to offer support. This approach is active internationally and was founded by Dr Alan Kellerhear. We established this approach initially in the Blue Mountains as part of improving informal supports for end-of-life care and expanded to the Hawkesbury area for the older people identified as being socially isolated and lonely.
Compassionate Communities work is relatively new in Australia. It seeks to transform how and where we care for each other in times of need. One of the principles of Compassionate Communities is that older people with strong connections have improved physical and mental health compared to those who are socially isolated and experiencing loneliness.
Use the arrows below to learn more about our social connection programs and services.
The My Health Connector website is a free online directory to help people improve their social connections and lifestyle supports. The directory provides information about local health and community services available to support people living in our region. My Health Connector can be used by both services and community members. It can also be used as a resource for Health connectors and Community connectors to promote services available in the Blue Mountains, Hawkesbury, Lithgow and Penrith areas.
End of Life Care
In 2018, The Groundswell Project was commissioned to pilot the Compassionate Communities model in the Mid-Upper Blue Mountains focused on end of life care - Our Compassionate City. This was in response to the results of the findings from the end of life research in the ‘Caring For People at End of Life’ report. In our region, around 1,600 people would benefit from some form of end of life care each year, which equates to more than 133 people each month.
Compassionate Cities or Communities publicly recognise people at end of life and seek to enlist all the major sectors of a community to help support them and reduce the negative social, psychological and medical impact of serious illness, caregiving, and bereavement. A compassionate city is a community that recognises that care for one another at times of health crisis and personal loss is not simply a task solely for health and social services but is everyone’s responsibility.
The Blue Mountains is the first community in the world to be invited to measure and understand our death literacy. The Death literacy Index will tell us who we are and what we have as a community when it comes to caring for people at end of life, and show us ways in which to move forward. This survey is a result of the 'Our Compassionate Community' partnership between The Nepean Blue Mountains Primary Health Network, The GroundSwell Project and Western Sydney University.
