Death Cafés and MAiD - A Place to Gather and Discuss Death and Dying

Editor's Note: Thank you to Julia for sharing your reflections on a recent Death Café experience. Much like our drop-in sessions, death cafés provide a space where conversation, connection and community occur without judgment or fear about discussing a subject that makes most people uncomfortable.

Have you ever attended a death café before? What is a Death Café, you might ask? Death Cafés are a place to gather and discuss death and dying. This might sound alarming or absurd to some, as many people fear having conversations related to death. Some might see this type of event as ‘taboo’ or even morbid. However, death cafes are not this at all. They are usually hosted in welcoming spaces where folks are invited to converse over tea and coffee, relating with one another and sharing thoughts, ideas, and understandings on the topic of death. Death occurs around us all the time; despite this, there are limited spaces to discuss it. The objective of a Death Cafe is “to increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives” (deathcafe.com).

Death Cafés started in England and have since grown internationally, recently growing in Canada. As a recent participant in a Death Café, conversations around MAiD became a focus and one of interest. Stories of MAiD were shared, covering the various experiences with navigating systems, finding resources and personal connections to those who have chosen a medically assisted death. These conversations were enriching, fulfilling and organic. Death Cafés can also foster growth in many of us. Navigating some of the concerns, and fears but also bonding and giving comfort to one another is where there is such quality and beauty in connecting and engaging in dialogue around death. Inevitably, death reaches us all at some point, sometimes sooner than we would ever imagine. MAiD gives people an opportunity to consider how they want to leave this earth, and Death Cafés give us an opportunity to normalize this. 

For anyone wanting to explore conversations around death and dying, Death Cafés are a great place to find solace and answers to many things about life and death. 

Reference: What is death cafe. (n.d.). https://deathcafe.com/what/ 

~ Submitted by Julia Rose BSW, RSW – MSW Student at Bridge C-14