EUKN - Netherlands - Hospice care and mourning in multicultural society

Hospice care and mourning in multicultural society

Introduction

The Support point for hospice care and mourning in multicultural society provides knowledge and information on dying and mourning in various cultures and religions to anyone who is interested.

Problem

How can knowledge and information on death and mourning in various cultures and religions be made accessible to everyone?

Description

The Support Point promotes the integration and participation of ethnic minorities in the Netherlands as:

the various religious and cultural communities present themselves via the Support Point by revealing their customs, rituals and desires relating to death;
representatives of the various communities can be directly approached through the Support Point and its customers for requests for information and advice;
representatives of the various religious and cultural communities gain more in-depth knowledge of the specific processes in the various institutes (care and welfare);
representatives of the various communities are involved in the research and policy development of the Support Point and consequently gain a more in-depth knowledge of the various aspects of society.

Approach

Due to the increasing ageing population and the increasing ethnic and religious diversity in the Netherlands, the demand for information on death and mourning in the various cultures and religions is also increasing. In order to meet this demand, the Support Point is performing a number of tasks:

Providing information and advice in publications and via the website.
Research. Last year, research was done into the possibilities of providing religious and culture-specific mental care after large-scale accidents and disasters.
Promoting professionalism via workshops and symposia for representatives of various cultures and religions.

The Support Point has an extensive network both on the side of the various religious and cultural communities in the Rijnmond region and on the side of the various target groups. The strength of the Support Point is that it is able to link both groups to each other and that it can function as intermediary for supply and demand.

Results

Since September 2003, the demand for information, increased professionalisation and research has only increased.
In 2004:
- the rouwrituelen ‘mourning rituals’ website (in Dutch) has been visited 36,000 times.
- 52 requests for support and advice were handled by the Support Point.
- the Support Point sold 51 publications.
- all the programmes, workshops and lectures were visited by a large number of participants.

Financing

The Support Point was financially supported by the Province of Zuid-Holland.

Contact info

COS Rijnmond and Midden-Holland
J. Wigny, tel. +31 10 2755955

Project start date

01/09/2003

Links

COS Rijnmond and Midden-Holland (in Dutch)Support Point Multicultural Mourning (in Dutch)

Overview of the Support Point's activities/publications (PDF, Dutch, 39KB)

Document type

case

Themes

Urban Policy > Social inclusion & integration > Quality of life

Keywords

Social services