Caregiver Series (Orange County Staff) 

Caregiving 101
Caregiving is something the majority of us will do but few of us are prepared for. In Caregiving 101, we discuss how to prepare your home, your family, and yourself for the logistics and emotions of caregiving.

Caregiving During the Holidays
Holidays can be a time of both joy and stress for caregivers; this presentation offers tips to help you make it through the holiday season with more meaning and joy and less stress for you and the person you care for.

Caregiver Self-Care
Caregivers become pros at taking care of the person they love, and often forget to provide the same care to themselves. Learn how to incorporate self-care into your routine no matter how much or how little time you have.

How to Have a Social Visit With Someone With Dementia
It’s important for people living with dementia to stay socially engaged. This talk explores ways to connect and have a rewarding social visit with someone whose cognitive abilities have changed.

Long Distance Caregiving
Long-distance caregiving takes on many roles, overtime you and your families needs will change, learn local resources to support you and your loved ones, tools for the caregiving journey and planning for care. 

What is Respite? 
Learn about local options for short-term relief for primary caregivers. Learn about resources to help fund and support respite options for you and your family.

End of Life Presentations and Workshops (Orange County Staff and Partners)

12 Funeral Myths
This talk covers, in a lively way, funeral consumer rights and options that can save families thousands of dollars at life’s end. We will explore some common misconceptions that for the most part have arisen because of the commercialization of funeral practices. A funeral consumer who is clear-headed about their preferences, rights, and options is a funeral consumer who is much more apt to make final arrangements that are pleasing, personal, and affordable.

Advance Directives
 This one-hour workshop covers two of the NC state advance directive forms—the “Living Will” and the “Health Care Power of Attorney”—as well as the popular booklet “Five Wishes.” We will also discuss additional documents to start the thinking and conversation around our wishes for care if we develop dementia. Speaker will return (if requested) in 2-3 weeks to notarize completed documents. Participants will need pencils.

Beyond the Edge: Alternative Body Disposition Practices 
This edgy little talk (30 minutes) covers the usual suspects except conventional burial and fire cremation. Topics include anatomical donation, body farms, human composting, sky burials, among others. If you think you can donate your body to the lions at a carnivore sanctuary, you’d be mistaken.

Bringing the Dead to Life: The Art of the Obituary  
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if, when your time comes, virtually all plans were in place, completed by the one person in the world most qualified to make them---you? Writing your life’s story is a good place to begin because it is a reminder of your own importance, remembering who you are, what you have enjoyed, and what you have achieved in this life. Together, we will explore the art of creating a meaningful obituary, whether for yourself or someone you love. You will see examples of the best obits---and the worst---and learn a myriad of ways to craft this final tribute.  

Funeral Art with Mini-Coffins!  
Do you know the difference between a casket and a coffin?  During this FUN workshop, you will find that out as you explore your artistic talents while creating unique miniature coffins.  They can be gifts, precious little altars, or just a special memento.  Warning:  hidden agenda!  While having fun decorating a coffin, you may come to the realization that death is simply an inevitable part of life…and even be inspired to think about, talk about, and write down your own end-of-life plans. *COST: $20 includes all materials and refreshments.*  

General Price Lists Demystified
Have you ever wondered how to tell whether a funeral home’s General Price List (GPL) is up to snuff?  Wonder no more!  This presentation guarantees to make you a wise owl when it comes to spotting mortuary mischief!

Good Grief:  The Art of Writing a Condolence Letter 
"There is little to say, Mr. Gilbert, when the heart is bruised” (Emily Dickinson).  If you've ever sat down to write a condolence letter and were at a loss for words, you're not alone. In this workshop we will take a look at condolence letters from writers throughout history to find the inspiration we need to get words on the page in times of sorrow. Bring a notebook and your favorite writing tool. 

Home Sweet Home Funerals  
This presentation provides all the basic information one needs about the home funeral movement and those who have longed for a relevant and sacred way to honor loved ones at their time of death. Home funerals can be done safely and legally. During this presentation you will learn about the care, ceremony, and honoring of a body while keeping a loved one at home; legalities and other components of family-directed home funerals; and forms for agencies/families in your community. 

Hospice 101 
The end of life care journey encompasses and should involve all care options along its spectrum, one of those options is hospice care. This program offers an in-depth conversation on what hospice looks like now, when you might need care, who makes up the hospice team, and what supportive programs are available.  

The Case for Green Burial
This one-hour talk covers the environmental, financial, and spiritual benefits of returning our bodies to the earth in a way consistent with our values and heritage. We talk about what is legal in North Carolina and how to go about getting buried green, even on your own land.

Voluntary Stopping Eating and Drinking (VSED) 
 As modern technology prolongs our lives, a life well-lived can often end with a long and painful struggle. Increasingly there are choices available about end-of-life options that afford greater personal control over the time and manner of death.  A “good death” is more likely when medical practitioners and those supporting the dying person are more informed about these options. This discussion covers the medical, ethical and legal issues involving VSED, Voluntary Stopping Eating and Drinking.