The memorial service will be the first of its kind at the local aged care facility and will allow residents, family, friends and staff to come together and honour their loved ones.
Seymour Health social worker Alison Gamble said while those within Barrabill House did memorialise those lost, the service would be an opportunity for a ceremonial reflection.
“This will be a real, formal capture. It’ll be a window of time. We’re going to stop and we’re going to remember,” she said.
“We’ll have photos of all of the residents we’ve lost and a little statement with them.
“We have residents who have been with us for years and a lot of the time they become an important part of the family here, so it’s really important to be able to stop and reflect.”
The service is hoped to be the first of many, with this inaugural ceremony honouring the residents who have passed in the past 12 months.
Following this, staff hope to host ceremonies every six months, emphasising the importance of ritual in grief.
“Grief is a process, it’s not something that’s a one and done. It’s about figuring out how to shift the relationship you had with that person when they were alive to something new,” Ms Gamble said.
“Those feelings don’t go. We need to figure out how to create a new relationship with that person, and ritual and ceremony help with that shift.”
The memorial service is open to all in the community, with Barrabill House having a strong connection to the town.
Starting at 10.30am on Monday, November 24 at the facility, opposite Seymour Health, the ceremony will be a morning of reflection, support and remembrance.
“This will be a beautiful way to bring in ritual, help our residents with their grief and remember those we’ve lost,” Ms Gamble said.
To attend the ceremony, RSVP to Barrabill House on 5793 6170 by Thursday, November 20.
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