What happens at our Death Café?

People arrive at the Hospice and are greeted by our team in the space where the Death Café takes place. You’ll be offered tea or coffee, along with plenty of delicious cakes and biscuits. Once everyone is settled and seated in small groups (usually around 3-6 people per table) a member of our team will explain what the Death Café is and what you can expect from the conversation.

The Death Café isn’t counselling or a support group, it’s an open space where people can share their thoughts and feelings with others. The conversation centres around death and dying, with prompt cards on the tables if you’d like a bit of help getting started. Most often people take turns sharing their experiences of loss or dying while others listen closely and there’s no pressure to speak if you don’t want to. During the session, people may reflect on the lives of those they’ve lost, sharing joyful memories, or talk about their own life and what it means to them.

At the end of the session, everyone comes back together as a whole group to reflect on how they found the experience, and share anything they like with the whole group.

We get lots of positive feedback from attendees about our Death Cafe!

“Death Café was a unique and intimate space to listen and reflect. The event was well run and thought-provoking.” – Group attendee