Thanks to Sarah Gibson, Research Associate, Victoria and Stuart Project at Kingston University for submitting this extended blog on the Victoria and Stuart Project. 

Preparing well for death is one of the most important things we can get right for the people we support and care for. As one of our advisors pointed out it is only irrelevant for people who are immortal!

Helping people who are facing serious illness to talk about and think through plans for what we want whilst we’re still alive is also vital.

We know it’s not easy for any of us to think & talk about being very ill, death and dying.

But that is what the Victoria and Stuart Project www.victoriaandstuart.com led by Professor Irene Tuffrey-Wijne at Kingston University has been doing for the last couple of years.

To read the full version please click here 

If you’d like to help test our end of life care planning toolkit by:-

• try out the resources during December 2023 or January 2024
• give us feedback on what you did and how it went (by end of Jan)

If so, please sign up as a Toolkit Tester in our study

1. Read our Participant Information sheet here
2. Sign up as a Victoria and Stuart Project Toolkit Tester here
3. Contact Sarah Gibson l.gibson@kingston.ac.uk with any questions

L’Arche Kent is a community of people with and without learning disabilities, including Support Assistants, volunteers, friends and neighbours, based in Canterbury. It is a model of creative and inclusive practice in the provision of support to its members (beer brewing features very highly in its activities), and refers to its voluntary Community Support Group (CSG) in advancing its goals of mutual service, promoting community, boosting spirituality and maintaining outreach to the wider society. The CSG meets quarterly, and our meetings are always dynamic, lively and fun! However, we are now in need of more members. If you would like to know more, and become involved with this wonderful community, please contact Cathy Bernal on cathy.bernal@kmms.ac.uk. I can guarantee that you will not be bored – and that you will meet some very impressive individuals!

 

The Community’s Steering group is keen to recruit new members from Kent, Surrey and Sussex.

We welcome all that feel they have a contribution to make to supporting people with learning disabilities to live healthy, safe and fulfilled lives, this includes people with lived experience and that gained from work roles. 

The steering group has experience of making reasonable adjustments to support contribution, please let us know how we might do so.

There is easy read information about being part of the steering group by clicking here 

To express your interest in joining the steering group please complete the below form. 

This deadline for submitting the form will be 5pm 8th December 2023.