Future Matters - In Detail

Empowering Communities to Plan for the End of Life 

Future Matters is a community based solution to raising awareness of end of life care planning. Volunteers are trained to cascade end of life care planning information to local communities. They support members of the public to put their plans in place and help them share their plans with those who will care for them.

The Future Matters Volunteer Training Programme

Volunteers attend a 4.5 day training programme (covering 8 modules) that equips them with the knowledge, skills and tools to become a Future Matters Volunteer. The training covers: introduction to end of life care planning and the volunteer role, advance care planning, wills, powers of attorney, funeral planning, loss and bereavement, volunteer skills (including communication skills and initiating and ending conversations), delivering awareness raising activities in the community and skills neeeded to provide one-to-one support to help people put their plans in place.

Module 1: Introduction to last years of life care planning and Future Matters Volunteer Role
Module 2: Putting your house in order Part 1 (Wills & Powers of Attorney)
Module 3: Introduction to Advance Care Planning
Module 4: Putting your house in order Part 2 (local services and funeral wishes)
Module 5: Loss and bereavement
Module 6: Planning for Last Years of Life – Volunteer Skills
Module 7: Putting it into practice (Community)
Module 8: Putting in into practice (One to One Support)

Click here the for Future Matters Training Programme Outline.

Outcomes/Reports

We have been commissioned by Islington Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to deliver the Future Matters programme in Islington since 2013. We have been delivering the programme in partnership with Age UK Islington.

To find out more about what we have acheived (including our targets and outcomes), please take a look at our Annual Reports.

Islington Future Matters Report Year 1 (2013/14)
Islington Future Matters Report Year 2 (2014/15)
Islington Future Matters Report Year 3 (2015/16)
Islington Future Matters Report Year 4 (2016/17)
Islington Future Matters Report Year 5 (2017/18)

Case Studies

The stories of those supported by our Future Matters Volunteers best describe the work we do. Please look at some of our recent case studies:

Case Study 1 - Caitlin
Case Study 2 - Anne and Ethel
Case Study 3 - Mark

Additional Resources

A number of valuable resources have been developed as part of this programme including an Advance Care Plan template which was developed in partnership with Age UK Islington volunteers and incorporates feedback from service users.

Volunteers use their skills in remarkable ways. After completing the Future Matters training programme Islington volunteer Rick Taylor wrote 2 poems:

A Final Journey – highly commended in the Dying Matters Creative Writing Competition 2014
I Didn’t Want This

Commissioning Future Matters

For further information and to commission the Future Matters programme or the Future Matters training please contact Mireille Hayden at info@gentledusk.org.uk

You can find out more about our other training programmes by taking a look at our Training page.