A global movement that encourages our whole community to be involved in supporting people, their families and carers through serious illness or at the end of life.
Do you want to connect with your Community? Are you passionate about helping people? Kalamunda Compassionate Communities connects neighbours to each other and can also provide a support network for those people in times of need, whether it be through illness, death or grief. To find out more information please email socialinclusion@kalamunda.wa.gov.au or phone the Place Lead on 9257 9958.
Our vision is to create compassionate and caring neighbourhoods where people support one another through illness, death, and grief, helping to build strong, connected, and happy communities in which people can live, play, and die in.
We aim to build death literate communities by strengthening social connections, nurturing local support networks, and creating safe spaces for open and honest conversations about dying, death, and loss. By normalising both asking for and offering help, we foster a culture of care where compassion is a shared community responsibility. We honour diverse cultural traditions alongside contemporary practices, ensuring end-of-life wishes are respected and supported in meaningful ways.
Our approach is strengths based, recognising and building upon the existing assets within our communities to grow resilience and connection. This work is guided by a passionate committee of local volunteers who champion collaboration between formal services and the community, ensuring care is practical, coordinated, and grounded in neighbourhood support.
Support can be simple and human; putting out the bins, dropping off milk, helping with a doona cover, walking a dog, reading to someone who is dying, or taking the time to listen to their story. These small acts of kindness are the foundation of compassionate communities.
Heather and Tony’s Story – End of Life at Home is an inspiring film about a local couple in Albany, Tony Speechley and his wife Heather Sanderson and the people who supported them through the final months of Tony’s terminal illness. The purpose of the film is to demonstrate the important role, family, friends and community play in providing end of life care.
Giving and receiving support is an important message in the film and one of the biggest challenges people face when someone becomes ill. Often people don’t ask for support or decline support when it is offered because they don’t want to be a burden, even when the support is clearly needed. The people offering support are also hesitant for fear of intruding on people’s privacy.
Heather and Tony’s story shows the value of accepting help early, even when you think you don’t need it. It also shows the opportunities that come from being open to giving and receiving support, and the choices it creates especially for the person who is dying and their carer.
Kalamunda Compassionate Communities journey began in in March 2022 through a 2-year project funded by the Department of Health. Activities conducted during the funding period include:
Citizen Connectors
Compassionate Connectors
Get to Know Your Neighbour
Resources
Palliative Care
Want to connect to your neighbours? Download our Neighbour Connect cards Hello Neighbour Cards If you would like some printed copies please call Place Lead on 9257 9958 and we will happily provide copies for you.
Neighbourhood Watch helps neighbours look out for neighbours. Neighbourhood Watch is a good way to start conversations in your street and build safe, strong, caring, connected and happy communities. For ideas on how to connect with your neighbours visit Getting Started | Neighbourhood Watch (nhw.wa.gov.au)
Neighbours Every Day is Relationships Australia’s ongoing social connection campaign, which culminates in a national day of action, Neighbour Day, held annually on the last Sunday of March. It aims to support and enable sustainable respectful relationships across communities, while also helping to address loneliness across the nation. For ideas on how to connect with your neighbours visit Neighbours Every Day.
An estate plan records what you want done with your assets after your death. It can include documents such as:
It also covers how you want to be cared for - medically and financially - if you can no longer make your own decisions. This part of your estate plan may be in documents such as:
You must be over 18 and mentally competent when you draw up your estate plan. Find further information via moneysmart.gov.au/wills-and-powers-of-attorney
Ambulance Wish WA is a registered charity who fulfill the wishes of terminally ill people who are no longer mobile and/or are unable to travel without medical intervention, equipment and support.
Medically trained volunteers and specially equipped ambulances help make these final wishes a reality, allowing individuals to visit meaningful places—whether it’s to enjoy their garden, feel the breeze at the beach, or be surrounded by family, friends, and pets.
To request a wish or volunteer your time visit Home - Ambulance Wish Western Australia
Tender Funerals is a not-for-profit funeral service model that aims to ensure all Australians can access meaningful and affordable funerals.
Home - Tender Funerals
The End of Life Notebook
An online planning tool to record personalised notes and wishes about your death which can then be downloaded and printed.
Designed to:
End of Life Notebook - Tender Funerals
The Palliative Care Helpline is a local, confidential and free service for Western Australia providing non-clinical information, support and resources on palliative care, advance care planning and grief and loss.
Call 1800 573 299, from 9am to 5pm, every day of the year
Palliative Care WA have released two new palliative care booklets- for carers and people on the palliative care journey.
PCWA_MyPalliativeCare_Digital.pdf (palliativecarewa.asn.au)
PalliativeCaring_Booklet_2023_WA_Digital.pdf (palliativecarewa.asn.au)
Kalamunda Hospital services encompass Specialist Palliative Care, including inpatient symptom control, end-of-life care, outpatient symptom management clinics, and the newly completed Day Hospice. As part of their commitment to quality care, Kalamunda Hospital completed a significant $9.5 million infrastructure upgrade in 2022 to enhance accessibility and facilities for the patients.
This video delves into the Kalamunda Hospital Patient Experience, showcasing the hospitals commitment to high-quality care and the vital role they play in the local community.
Become a Citizen Connector.
Citizen Connectors support the wellbeing of others through conversations and encouraging social and caregiving networks. They like to:
They connect people to:
Citizen Connectors can be anyone - hairdressers, taxi drivers, supermarket staff, aged care workers, cafe workers, members of sporting groups or choirs, work colleagues, community workers, business owners, librarians, neighbours, friends, young people, seniors...YOU!
We are offering 2 hour workshops, free of charge. The workshop will help you develop the skills to become a Citizen Connector, offering ‘signpost’ conversations with family, colleagues, and others in the community, including those with life-changing illnesses, carers and those who are grieving.
For further information contact the Place Lead on 9257 9958.
Become a Compassionate Connector.
We are looking for Compassionate Connectors to help those who are caring, dying or grieving get the support they need.
Compassionate Connectors support people living with chronic or life-changing illnesses, their carers, and those who are grieving, by helping them map and grow their care networks.
They assist individuals in identifying the social and practical support they need, and in engaging help from family, friends, community members and local service.
All our Compassionate Connectors receive free training and are supported by our Coordinator who matches Connectors with the person in need based on where they live, their skills and interests.
Our Compassionate Connectors meet regularly to share and learn from each other.
What our Connectors have shared:
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