Whilst it’s not a topic people like to discuss, having plans in place makes it easier to say the last goodbye

Whilst it’s not a topic people like to discuss, having plans in place makes it easier to say that “last goodbye”. The Harvey Community Resource Centre, aiming to make a discussion around death more palatable, brought together a range of organisations last week to help people plan for their death at The Last Goodbye Expo. The CRC was joined by the Shire of Harvey, AdvoCare, Hocart Lodge, Groven Legal, William Barrett and Sons, the Eaton Family Centre and the SW Compassionate Communities Network to give seniors and their loved ones the knowledge on how best to prepare for the end, offering expert advice on will writing, staying in place programs and more. Harvey CRC manager Tracey-Ann Davies said death could come at any time and too many people were caught unprepared, leaving their families to pick up the pieces. “Too many people die without wills, and it’s the families who really struggle, it can cause rifts and arguments in families if the deceased person hasn’t had their final say,” she said. “Bringing these services together so people can have the end of life planning means you have control over what happens at the end.” Ms Davies said the services attending the event were regularly accessible through the CRC, but having them in one place for an event like their Last Goodbye expo made the discussion even easier to start. She said she knew many people in Harvey had difficulties leaving the town to access services, so bringing them together in the town was a great way of getting people informed. Ms Davies said it did not matter how old you are, you should be prepared to start talking about death at any age. “We’re really happy with the turnout today, word is getting out which is really good,” she said. “The next question is — ‘how can the CRC keep this conversation going?’ “It doesn’t matter how many people come together, as long at the conversation continues.”