Dying Matters is a national awareness raising campaign focussing on challenging the taboo around death and getting people to talk more about their own death or the death of family members.  Dying Matters week in Leeds was launched at the City Museum with a New Orleans style Jazz Band starting off proceedings with a march around Millenium Square.

We held a very successful Dying Matters café at Carers Leeds where carers and staff talked about their ‘bucket lists’, how they would like to be remembered, where they would like to be buried or their ashes scattered, how they could go about making a will.  We were joined by some lovely staff from Co-op funeral care.  Although for most of us, this is an upsetting subject often  accompanied by fear, talking about it in a warm and supported environment really helped  to get us thinking about what need to do and put in place to make sure that we make dying as easy as possible for ourselves,  friends and family.  The Dying Matters organisers say ‘plan for tomorrow, live for today and don’t leave it unsaid!