This live, virtual event will feature a conversation between Dr. Julian Abel, palliative care physician and international leader in the compassionate communities movement, and Dr. Mary Lou Kelley, Canadian researcher, advocate for community-based approaches to aging and end-of-life care, and a dedicated Compassionate Ottawa volunteer. Together, they will explore Talk, Learn, Connect (TLC)—a community connector program developed in the UK that helps strengthen neighbourhood relationships and support people through life’s challenges.
The conversation will highlight how this grassroots initiative enables more social connection, cultivates mutual support, and builds compassionate communities from the ground up. Julian will share insights from the UK experience, and Mary Lou will reflect on how the model could be adapted and implemented in Canada. There will be time for questions after the conversation.
Julian Abel is a physician and international lead in the field of compassionate communities and palliative care. He is the Director of Compassionate Communities UK, which is a charity that was formed to develop the broader roll out of compassionate communities in both primary care and end of life care. For the past several years, Julian has been working with Frome Medical Practice in Somerset, and advising many other communities around the world about developing a new model of primary care combined with compassionate communities.
Dr. Mary Lou Kelley MSW, PhD has been engaged in practice, teaching and research in gerontology and palliative care since 1972. Major contributions involved co-creating strategies to provide palliative care in rural and First Nations communities and long-term care homes. She was the recipient of the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association’s Award of Excellence (2011), the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012) and the Ontario Hospice Palliative Care Visionary award (2015) in recognition of her career contribution to Canadian palliative care practice, education, and research. After 35 years as a professor at Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, she retired in 2015 and relocated to Ottawa to be with family. Mary Lou has been a volunteer with Compassionate Ottawa since 2016 where she works with multicultural communities to support developing community care networks.
