Ventura to Host Its First Death Cafe Event
The topic of conversation is death. Individuals who want to share their thoughts about the topic in an open, respectful, safe, non-judgmental environment are welcome to Ventura’s first Death Cafe event on Saturday afternoon September 24 from 2-4.
At a Death Cafe event, people drink tea, eat cake, and discuss death. The aim is to increase awareness of death to help people make the most of their (finite) lives. It’s a positive atmosphere, not macabre or depressing. There is no intention of leading participants to any conclusion, product, or course of action. Death Café is not a bereavement support or grief counselling setting, and Death Café does not work for people who, for whatever reason, are not able to discuss death comfortably and openly. The discussion is led by a facilitator whose job it is to help make people feel comfortable talking about death. There are no guest speakers, no information materials distributed. Death Cafe is simply a straightforward, positive space for people to chat about this inevitable human milestone.
To date, there have been more than 3,000 Death Cafe events in nearly 40 countries (over 1,800 Death Cafes in the USA, including one in Santa Barbara last year).[1] This will be the first in Ventura. Death Cafe, a not for profit organization, was founded in Europe by Jon Underwood based on the work of Bernard Crettaz. Lizzy Miles was the first person to offer Death Cafe in the United States. For more general information about Death Cafe, go to deathcafe.com
Ventura’s Death Cafe is free (donations are welcome) and refreshments will be served: 5675 Ralston Street #C, Ventura 93003 (corner of Ralston and Gaviota Lane; entrance is off the Gaviota Lane parking lot). The event is sponsored by Roze Room Hospice (however, hospice care is not part of the agenda). Please RSVP to Marcia Ortiz at 805-654-0191 or marcia@rozeroomhospice.org .
[1] Source: http://deathcafe.com/map/
