Men of ALS

Location
West Falmouth Public Library
575 West Falmouth Highway
West Falmouth, MA
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The Workshop
Enjoy the connection and unique perspective of other men living with ALS, male caregivers of persons living with ALS, sons of those with ALS, or any man touched by the disease.  We will gather in counsel to share our experiences with the broad motivation to bring heartfelt connections and healing to the ALS journey.  The Men of ALS gatherings create a safe space to explore the rich male perspective on lineage, sexuality, the role as caregiver, and the experience of compassion.

Workshop Facilitator
Ron Hoffman co-founded Compassionate Care ALS in 1998 and has served as Executive Director ever since. As such he deals regularly with end of life care, including needs evaluation and instruction on ALS disease progression. He facilitates and guides intimate discussions with ALS patients and their families who are nearing death or actively dying around the process of death and dying and the questions that arise, helps them examine their choices, and creates space for dialogue around their beliefs and decisions.

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Beyond ALS: An intimate gathering for those who have begun new lives after loss 

The Workshop
Join a welcoming group of men and women who are living on the other side of an ALS experience. This interactive gathering will highlight where we are now and what may feel different: our identity, our values, our approach to spirituality, and more. Share stories about the new experiences of building relationships, contentment with solitude, or challenges as an only parent. Enjoy the support of others who are rebuilding their lives after profound loss. But, most importantly, come to laugh and appreciate the company of others who have come to experience the precious nature of human life.

Workshop Facilitator
Ron Hoffman co-founded Compassionate Care ALS in 1998 and has served as Executive Director ever since. As such he deals regularly with end of life care, including needs evaluation and instruction on ALS disease progression. He facilitates and guides intimate discussions with ALS patients and their families who are nearing death or actively dying around the process of death and dying and the questions that arise, helps them examine their choices, and creates space for dialogue around their beliefs and decisions.

Women of ALS

Location
West Falmouth Public Library
575 West Falmouth Highway
West Falmouth, MA
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The Workshop
Enjoy the connection and unique perspective of other women living with ALS, female caregivers of persons living with ALS, daughters of those with ALS, or any woman touched by the disease.  We will gather in counsel to share our experiences with the broad motivation to bring heartfelt connections and healing to the ALS journey.  The Women of ALS gatherings create a safe space to explore the rich feminine perspective on lineage, sexuality, the role as caregiver, and the experience of compassion.

Workshop Facilitators
Suzana Makowski, MD is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Palliative Care at the University of Massachusetts in Worcester. She is board certified in Hospice and Palliative Medicine, Internal Medicine and Holistic Medicine. She is formerly the medical director Hospice and Palliative Care of Cape Cod and of the Integrative Medicine and Wellness Center at Deaconess Billings Clinic in Montana. Dr. Makowski has lectured in numerous regional and national venues on integrative palliative care, symptom management, ethics and legal considerations in palliative medicine.

Brenda Cvitan

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Caregiver to Caregiver

Location
CCALS Office
752 West Falmouth Highway
Falmouth, MA  
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The Workshop
Come share the informal gathering designed to offer genuine support for those engaged in ALS caregiving.  Enjoy the opportunity to be with other folks who have an intimate understanding of ALS and share your unique point of view as a caregiver.  It is truly a wonderful experience to sit in council with ALS caregivers, to practice heart-centered listening, to bear witness to our journeys and those of others, and to support and be supported without judgment.

Workshop Facilitator
Ron Hoffman co-founded Compassionate Care ALS in 1998 and has served as Executive Director ever since. As such he deals regularly with end of life care, including needs evaluation and instruction on ALS disease progression. He facilitates and guides intimate discussions with ALS patients and their families who are nearing death or actively dying around the process of death and dying and the questions that arise, helps them examine their choices, and creates space for dialogue around their beliefs and decisions.

Click here to register

Sustaining Compassion – Practical Considerations for Health Care Professionals

Date TBD

The Workshop
Compassionate care for the dying and the medically fragile creates a spacious environment that allows us to be truly awake to life.  However, this wakefulness calls us to lean into suffering and invites us to experience the discomfort associated with loss and grief.  As caregivers we are invited to listen deeply and to be genuinely present to the self, the patient, their families, and their community.
This interactive workshop will explore how our approach to suffering shapes compassionate care.  We will explore very practical strategies for touching into the grief born from loss and, in turn, to deepen our capacity for compassion.

Eight (8) CEUs available for Nursing and Social Work

$40 registration fee – breakfast and lunch included.

Participation is limited – please register early, either on-line at the CCALS website or by calling the CCALS office at 508.444.6775

Workshop Facilitator
Ron Hoffman co-founded Compassionate Care ALS in 1998 and has served as Executive Director ever since. As such he deals regularly with end of life care, including needs evaluation and instruction on ALS disease progression. He facilitates and guides intimate discussions with ALS patients and their families who are nearing death or actively dying around the process of death and dying and the questions that arise, helps them examine their choices, and creates space for dialogue around their beliefs and decisions.

ALS Friends and Family Pumpkin Celebration

Join CCALS as we celebrate at Pumpkin Day at Bourne Farm. Come share the informal gathering of other families impacted by ALS in a relaxed and purposeful way. The gathering will bring together a variety of family configurations and provide a wonderful interactive opportunity to share our unique experiences on the ALS journey and the welcoming of the Autumn season. Children will be especially engaged in fun activities including: pumpkin picking, hay rides, face painting, canoe/kayaking, pony rides and crafts...(rain or shine/lunch provided and free parking). All guests of CCALS can participate for no cost as long as they preregister.


Saturday, October 9, 2010
11:00am-2:00pm

Location:
Bourne Farm
6 North Falmouth Highway
West Falmouth, MA  
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Awakening to Living & Dying

Next Date TBD

An experiential conversation for individuals, couples and those interested in examining the mystery of death and dying

Our culture in many ways is ill prepared to deal with the present complexities of death and dying. Consequently we are often left feeling without support to explore these important issues.

The Workshop
This facilitated conversations and intimate discussion exploring our own personal beliefs and decisions around end of life issues. Through many pan-cultural ways and practices we will look at the overarching issues of living and dying, the questions that arise around those nearing death, as well as exploring the presence of death throughout the lifespan. The workshop will help us to fully embrace living and give us skills to be of greater assistance to ourselves and others who are dying symbolically or literally. Some of the topics may include:

• Exploring your personal mythology, beliefs & concepts of death
• Working with difficult feelings, emotions and resistance
• Defining dignity in death
• Examining pan-cultural concepts of death
• Looking at myriad choices we may face

The way through dilemmas involves learning to tap into the compelling voice of the mysterious. Despite the insecurity of contemplating dying, we will find ways to embrace the unknown. Seen this way, obstacles can create a passage between the old and new ways of being.

Workshop Facilitators
Ron Hoffman co-founded Compassionate Care ALS in 1998 and has served as Executive Director ever since. As such he deals regularly with end of life care, including needs evaluation and instruction on ALS disease progression. He facilitates and guides intimate discussions with ALS patients and their families who are nearing death or actively dying around the process of death and dying and the questions that arise, helps them examine their choices, and creates space for dialogue around their beliefs and decisions.

Julie Yau holds a BA in human behavior and an MA in spiritual psychology. For over fifteen years Julie has been studying and teaching in the field of body, mind, and soul. She studied with Roshi Joan Halifax in the Compassionate Care of the Dying Programs for professionals.  She coordinates closely with hospital staff, care givers, and chronically ill patients. Julie developed the Cultivating Compassion Education Series for CCALS and offers meditation and contemplative work to those with ALS and their caregivers. She also supports those on the ALS journey through her ongoing psychotherapeutic practice that incorporates her knowledge of somatic psychology and contemplative awareness.

Past Events

June 26
Oakley Event

May 2009
Doug Oakley's Four Corners Motorcycle Ride

May 24, 2009
Charlyne Ciccone runs Vermont City Marathon

October 12, 2008
Benefit to support Compassionate Care ALS and its work with the MDA/ALS Center at UMass Memorial Medical Center

July 17, 2008
Vineyard Night for CCALS – Watch Ron and Dilly Walsh on Plum TV.

August 10, 2008
Falmouth Road Race

July 17, 2008
Vineyard Night for CCALS