The following discussion guides provide activities and discussion topics
to help facilitate conversations on death, dying, and the afterlife
with family members and friends, and in small groups. Together, these
four guides offer a complement of tools, activities, resources, and
reading on end-of-life issues.
Exploring issues on death and dying:
On Our Own Terms: Moyers on Dying Discussion Guide - A rich
digest of essays and articles on end-of-life care with questions for
discussion and practical ideas for caring for loved ones and taking
action. Download
PDF version here (requires Adobe Acrobat 4). To receive a copy of
the Discussion Guide, please write to: On Our Own Terms Discussion
Guide, PO Box 245, Little Falls, New Jersey 07424-0245.
Exploring your beliefs on the afterlife:
With Eyes Open Guide—a discussion guide aimed at helping
small groups facilitate discussions on death, dying, and the afterlife.
Available online and as a printer-friendly
version. For hard-copies of the guide, contact: KQED Audience Services,
Inc., 2601 Mariposa Street, San Francisco, CA 94110 or call (415) 864-2000.
Making medical decisions:
Finding Your Way booklet—this 13-page booklet guides
individuals and families through the processes of planning before serious
illness occurs, as well as when facing end-of-life decisions (also available
in Spanish). Single copies are available for $1.50 by sending a check
(made payable to Finding Your Way) to: CAHHS Sales/Distribution
Center, PO Box 340100, Sacramento, CA 95834-0100.
For group discussions on end-of-life decisions:
Talking It Over discussion guide—designed for lay discussion
leaders, this guide provides the format and exercises for 3 one-hour
sessions on end-of-life issues: "Exploring Your Personal Views,"
"Talking with Loved Ones" and "Making Tough Decisions"
(also available in Spanish and Tagalog). To order the guide, contact
Kathy Glasmire at (916) 484-2485, email: kathy.shd@quiknet.com;
check their website at: www.sachealthdecisions.org;
or send your request in writing to: Sacramento Healthcare Decisions,
4747 Engle Road, Carmichael, CA 95608
The outreach/community partnership component of the Bay Window: With
Eyes Open, has been a collaborative effort. Outreach has included
a series of focus group brain trusts, helping KQED to determine program
content for the With Eyes Open series. The Outreach/Community
Partnership staff worked with the producers of the programs to identify
participants in the broadcasts.
In addition, there is now an on-going network among
Bay Area End-Of-Life Care providers, many of whom participate in a web-based
network, engaging in cross-disciplinary discussions and exchanging resources.
KQED and Growth
House, Inc. provided the original facilitation for the network.
A steering committee was formed, providing the impetus and on-going
support for the network. Members of the steering committee represent
all disciplines within the End-Of-Life Care movement; hospice, VNA,
chaplains, caregivers and bereavement professionals.
Many people have played significant roles in the Outreach/Community
Partnership efforts for Bay Window: With Eyes Open. Within KQED,
the program producers, the Communications Dept. and the Development
Dept. as well as two part time staff hired to do outreach/community
partnership coordination all worked together to implement as comprehensive
an outreach strategy as possible. One of the brain trusts was hosted
by the Television
Race Initiative, who also helped with audience recruitment. The
California
Coalition for Compassionate Care will provide the on-going maintenance
and facilitation of the web-based network, once KQED is finished at
the end of the broadcast.
The strength of the Outreach/Community Partnership is
its sustainability. Our hope is that long after the broadcast, the members
of the coalition that were drawn together as a result of the television
programming, the network will provide continued resources for each other,
enhancing the quality and increasing access to end-of-life care for
a larger percentage of the population in the Bay Area.
San Francisco/Bay
Area Events Listing
Check out our comprehensive listing of Bay Area activities planned
around the With Eyes Open series broadcast.
