It is natural to want to live, die and grieve well. Compassionate Ottawa is a community movement that supports people to do just that. We passionately believe that everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy wellness and self-respect until the end of life.

To achieve this aim, we plan to engage Ottawa’s many and diverse communities. We have made good progress on this journey in our first few years and have identified this as a priority as we move forward.

From the outset, Compassionate Ottawa has been welcomed into the Ottawa community. We are fortunate to be working with a variety of community partners in our work. We are developing a social model of care where the community works alongside health care providers and social service groups to change the way we think about living well and facing loss. We aim to strengthen the capacity of people to care for each other in times of serious illness and loss.

We sponsor projects such as the Healthy End of Life Project and Let’s Talk about Later Life, both designed to encourage people to offer help to others and to accept help as well. We sponsor Conversations with Leaders which examine a variety of aspects of the meaning of compassion.

But we are just getting started on our journey.

Expanding our reach to Ottawa’s many communities is one of five key priorities over the next four years. These include neighborhoods where we live, as well as the many communities that gather to share common Interests, values and beliefs. We will be seeking new partners to work with as we move forward.

Of particular importance will be those who often have been left out or who face discrimination of any sort.

Please watch this page for updates on this important work.

In the meantime, if your community is interested in working with us by establishing your own compassionate community, we invite you to get in touch.