Continuing Bonds: Dying to Talk - Young people creating Compassionate Communities

Death, dying and bereavement affect us all; death is a unifying element of life. However, the professionalisation of death - the responsibility to deal with death and the dying - has been devolved to health and social care workers and other professionals. This removal of caring for the dead and dying away from friends, families and communities results in a weakening of the local support networks where bereavement support could be more sensitively delivered.

It also diminishes the normality of death. It is perhaps not surprising then that we rarely speak about death and dying, often lacking the experience, language and confidence to do so. However, not being able to talk about the death of our loved ones can lead to mental health issues and other negative outcomes.

This is especially true of young people, and is implicated in future depression, smoking, drug dependency, risk-taking behaviour, poor educational attainment, unemployment and criminal activity.

This follow-on project uses the methods and findings of the Continuing Bonds (CB) project - which used archaeology to challenge biases and facilitate discussion around death and bereavement - talking its outcomes to a new audience of young people and practitioners in Bradford and Wolverhampton.

The Universities of Bradford (UoB) and Wolverhampton (UoW) will work in partnership with local voluntary sector organisations and young people from the 2 cities, recruiting Ambassadors (aged 14-19) to deliver existing resources and working practices from the CB project, and develop new resources, capable of supporting young people to talk about bereavement, death and dying, building resilience. Events will culminate in a 'Festival of the Dead' for young people in each city, online resources, celebration and practitioner events.

A "Dying to Talk" online resource pack will be compiled for schools and youth groups wishing to run their own Festivals and workshops, freely available via UoB, UoW and CB websites. The project will work with schools and young people to achieve the following outcomes:

1) Dissemination of the methods used in the Continuing Bonds (CB) project through engaging young people in designing sensitive and age-appropriate activities that encourage discussion around death and bereavement;

2) Exhibition and promotion of existing CB and new resources at a Festival of the Dead, held in both Bradford and Wolverhampton;

3) Production of free, downloadable resources, with guidelines, sources of support, activity ideas, games, workshops and festivals, that encourage discussion around death and bereavement;

4) Development of a model of a Compassionate Community for Young People for schools, supported by a multi-platform social-media presence; 5) The potential designs for a mobile D2T phone app for young people; 6) Writing and delivery of a briefing paper for practice-based audiences; 7) Celebration event for ambassadors and their families;

8) Cafe Scientifique, death cafes and other dissemination events; 9) Further planning for a larger national project.

Project partnership with Child Bereavement UK and the experience and expertise of the project team will ensure all ambassadors and participants are supported, and that the strongest ethical processes are upheld.

The project has built in flexibility to run with face-to-face contact, or digitally if physical distancing is in place. This will provide a means for using digital technology and social media to extend the support offered by the voluntary organisations and increase project sustainability. One of the central aims of the project will therefore be to co-design online means of support which are more likely to be attractive to young people and provide an accessible service to help them talk about bereavement, death and dying.

The project builds on the success of the original CB project, using archaeology to normalise talk about death and bereavement, taking project findings to new audiences.