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Kalamunda Compassionate Communities

Kalamunda Compassionate Communities Logo

Kalamunda Compassionate Communities

 

Family of five with a dog in a circle

Compassionate Connector Hub

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 Community Development Officer Inclusive Communities on 9257 9958.

Creating compassionate and caring neighbourhoods who support each other to help build strong, connected and happy communities to live, play and die in.

This support can be a simple as putting out the bins, dropping of some milk, helping with a doona cover, taking their dog for a walk, reading to the dying person or listening to their story.

Want to connect to your neighbours? Download our Neighbour Connect cards Hello Neighbour Cards If you would like some printed copies please call the Community Development Officer, Inclusive Communities 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

Compassionate Communities: Heather and Tony's Story
Embracing Palliative Care: A Journey of Compassion - Kalamunda Hospital Patient Experience

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: 

  • The City of Kalamunda partnered with Kalamunda Hospital Palliative Care Unit and the day hospice to host an Artist in Residency. The City of Kalamunda engaged an Artist in Residence to produce a series of eight large scale portraits capturing the life stories and legacy of patients, their families and staff at Kalamunda Hospital Palliative Care Unit. 
  • Two community workshops have also been held and facilitated by Artist in Residence Eleisha Pirouet to raise community awareness and understanding around the Compassionate Communities project and the public health approach to end of life.
    Workshop One was an individual painting workshop where participants painted their own Banksia flower, chosen as a symbol for life and death, representing the natural circles of life through the flower’s life cycle.
    Workshop Two was a community art mural, where the participants painted three mobile boards and discussions took place about how the community could come together to better support each other in sickness and at end of life.
    The free workshops attracted a diverse range of community with unique perspectives, discussing legacy, death and dying from an optimistic perspective that celebrates life.
  • A Growing Kalamunda – A Compassionate Community Forum; “Living Well, Ending Well” forum took place on Dying to Know You Day on 8 August. The forum was a celebration of life, ageing, and connecting communities. Featuring Compassionate Community experts, allied health professionals, charity and not-for-profit organisations who work in the space of connecting communities and creating a culture of caring communities. 
  • An art exhibition, a celebration of life and legacy, featuring all the artworks produced as part of the Kalamunda Compassionate Communities project, was on display throughout August and at the Forum. 
  • A volunteer group is now established, consisting of community members, providing a support network between their surrounding neighbours.

Outcomes Achieved

  • A community with improved understanding and knowledge on dying and death care options and familiarity with starting conversations on death and dying
  • A community that demonstrates a willingness and capacity to support and care for each other
  • Projects and initiatives that will support community members, their families and friends facing end of life 
  • Increased community awareness of Palliative Care’s focus to improve the quality of life of patients with a life limiting illness, their families and their caregivers

More Information

Would you like to become a Citizen Connector?  Please contact: the Community Development Officer – Inclusive Communities (08) 9257 9958 during business hours or email socialinclusion@kalamunda.wa.gov.au.

 

Hello 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 the Community Development Officer, Inclusive Communities 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.


Advance Care Planning

  • Advance Care Planning can help you to have a say in what type of care you receive in the future.
  • It helps others understand your values, beliefs and preferences for when you are no longer able to make or communicate decisions about your health and personal care.
  • Advance Care Planning can start at any age. It is best started when you are feeling well and able to make decisions.
  • Download Advance Health Directive Form

Estate Plans

An estate plan records what you want done with your assets after your death. It can include documents such as:

  • Your will
  • A testamentary trust (as part of your will)
  • Superannuation binding nominations

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:

  • Any powers of attorney
  • A power of guardianship (giving someone the right to choose where you live and to make decisions about your medical care)
  • An Advance Healthcare Directive (your needs, values and preferences for your future care)

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

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 Perth

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:

  • support honest self-reflection on what is important to you
  • foster open and honest conversations with your family
  • reflect on key goals you may want to achieve before you die
  • inform and empower you to take as much control as you want of your dying, death and funeral

End of Life Notebook - Tender Funerals

Palliative Care WA

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)

Embracing Palliative Care: A Journey of Compassion - Kalamunda Hospital Patient Experience.

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.

A man sitting by a window at a table using his laptop and phone

24/7 Resources

ALL LIFE THREATENING EMERGENCIES (Police, Fire, Ambulance) call 000. Other resources which are available 24/7 are:

© City of Kalamunda 2025