What Matters Most? Advance Directive Workshop @ CCESF
The UCSF MERI Center held a What Matters Most? A 2-part Advance Directive Workshop in the community on February 19 & March 4, 2020 at The Center for Creative Exploration, a non-profit arts education organization in Glen Park. This was the first community session we held outside UCSF and it was organized by Suzanne Harris, a member of CCE and a UCSF employee.
The workshop took place at The Center for Creative Exploration, a wonderfully warm and inviting space and we sat in a circle while Redwing facilitated the workshop. In Session 1, we had 13 people in attendance & Redwing explained the importance of an advance directive, naming your agents, and clearly stating your wishes. She used Go Wish cards to help participants think about that is important to them if dealing with serious illness. In Session 2, we had 9 members join us in person and a couple more joining remotely via video. Participants had great questions as well as shared what they learned from their conversations with their prospective agents and in completing their advance directives. One person shared that she used very specific, medical language so her wishes would also be clear to medical providers after consulting with her agent, an acute care provider. Others shared their experiences with loved ones at the end of life and how that formed their own wishes. At the end, we notarized the advance directives for those who were ready and invited those who joined remotely or were not ready, to contact us to arrange free notarization (normally $15/signature) or to attend Session 2 of any upcoming UCSF What Matters Most.
This workshop was an amazing event with friends coming together and supporting each other in preparing important, but sometimes difficult documents in a beautiful and safe space. Attendees donated between $10-$35 dollars each and received a deck of Go Wish cards, Redwing’s book Last Acts of Kindness, and completed advanced directives were notarized for free.If you are interested in organizing a What Matters Most workshop for your friends or organization, please contact us at 415.509.8645 or [email protected] for more information.
