{"id":71011,"date":"2026-05-07T12:26:58","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T12:26:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/?p=71011"},"modified":"2026-05-07T12:27:46","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T12:27:46","slug":"you-are-never-too-young-south-yorkshire-death-conversations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/05\/07\/you-are-never-too-young-south-yorkshire-death-conversations\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cYou are never too young\u201d: South Yorkshire opens up conversations about death"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>NHS South Yorkshire has encouraged people to start conversations about death during this year&#8217;s Dying Matters awareness week.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This year\u2019s national campaign is focused on the theme &#8216;let&#8217;s talk about death and dying\u2019, a theme which intends to&nbsp;highlight the importance of open conversations about death, at every stage of life.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Initiatives aim to break down the difficulty people experience when talking about death.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: none; overflow: hidden;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FStLukesHospiceSheffield%2Fposts%2Fpfbid0W1Gia6YGUHWavirhxf1SPpMRuSssbMz6qZgbWezNgtMj2tTKmYEEhWks7y4F5ksnl&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=500\" width=\"500\" height=\"793\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n<p>National research has shown that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hospiceuk.org\/our-campaigns\/dying-matters\/dying-matters-awareness-week?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.hospiceuk.org\/our-campaigns\/dying-matters\/dying-matters-awareness-week?utm_source=chatgpt.com\">27% of people find it difficult to talk about death with family and friends, while 30% say they bottle up their feelings.&nbsp;<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Emma Latimer, Senior Responsible Officer for Palliative and End of Life Care at NHS South Yorkshire, said: \u201cWhen we talk openly and honestly, we can reduce fear, challenge stigma, support one another, and ensure that care truly reflects what matters most to people and those they love.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Organisers across South Yorkshire are running community discussions, awareness sessions and death cafes across Sheffield, Doncaster, Rotherham and Barnsley this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mike Reeder, 68, Senior Chaplain at <a href=\"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/03\/20\/sheffield-charity-brings-the-sound-of-music-into-hospice\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/03\/20\/sheffield-charity-brings-the-sound-of-music-into-hospice\/\">St Luke\u2019s Hospice<\/a> said: \u201cI think one of the things that stops us talking about this is that death is the one thing in life we can\u2019t control. We are all human beings who like to have control over our lives and what happens to us, and this is one thing we can\u2019t control.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Reeder described how he has previously used a set of question cards called \u2018\u201cGraveTalks\u201d at death cafes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At cafes, small groups gather over biscuits, tea and coffee to discuss prompts from the \u201cGraveTalk\u201d cards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Reeder emphasised not only the psychological and spiritual benefits but also the practical value of attending death cafes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He said:  \u201cNobody wants anybody to die, of course not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;But if practical steps such as setting up a will and power of attorney are not set out, the amount of extra work it creates for family members or next of kin is huge.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He also made clear that no one should feel excluded from having these conversations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He said: \u201cYou are never too young to have these discussions.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s Dying Matters awareness week this week and NHS South Yorkshire has encouraged people to start conversations about death.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":784,"featured_media":71052,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21,55],"tags":[231,2050,315,38,131],"class_list":["post-71011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-top-story-3","tag-community","tag-death","tag-health","tag-sheffield","tag-south-yorkshire"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>South Yorkshire opens up conversation about death<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"South Yorkshire is 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