Men of ALS
Led by Paul Shea

Beyond ALS: An intimate gathering for those who have begun new lives after loss
Led by Ron Hoffman

Caregiver to Caregiver:
Led by Ron Hoffman and Erin MacDonald

Women of ALS
Led by Erin MacDonald, MSW, LICSW, Senior Client Care Liaison, with Ron Hoffman, Founder

Sustaining Compassion – Practical Considerations for Health Care Professionals
Led by Ron Hoffman

Awakening to Living & Dying
Led by Ron Hoffman and Julie Yau

Caregiver to Caregiver

Date: Thursday, October 29th, 2015
Time: 11:00am-1:30pm

Location:
Beach Rose Inn
(future Home of the CCALS Education and Retreat Center)
17 Chase Road
Falmouth, MA 02540

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.

Led by Ron Hoffman, Founder, and Erin MacDonald, MSW, LICSW, Senior Client Care Liaison. Gathering is free of charge.

Please RSVP to Shannon at (508) 444-6775 or shannon@ccals.org.

Return to top

Women of ALS

Date: TBA

Location:
Norwell VNA  Business Office
120 Longwater Drive, Suite #104
Norwell, MA 02061
View map

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 female perspective on lineage, sexuality, the role as caregiver, and the experience of compassion.

Led by:
Led by Erin MacDonald, MSW, LICSW, Senior Client Care Liaison, with Ron Hoffman, Founder.

A light lunch will be served. Gathering is free of charge.

Please RSVP to Shannon at (508) 444-6775 or shannon@ccals.org.

Return to top

Men of ALS

Date: TBA

Location:
Norwell VNA  Business Office
120 Longwater Drive, Suite #104
Norwell, MA 02061
View map

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.

Led by:
Paul Shea, Assistant Family Care Liaison and Program Specialist.

A light lunch will be served. Gathering is free of charge.

Return to top

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

Date: Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Time: 6pm

Location:
Newton Centre

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.

Led by Ron Hoffman

Please RSVP to Shannon at (508) 444-6775 or shannon@ccals.org.

Return to top

Sustaining Compassion – Practical Considerations for Health Care Professionals

Date and Location TBA

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

Led by Ron Hoffman

Return to top

Awakening to Living & Dying

Date and Location TBA

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.

Led by Ron Hoffman and Julie Yau

Return to top

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.

Paul Shea and Ron have been friends since 1993. He has been a student, teacher and practitioner of Asian healing and contemplative movement arts for the past 28 years. He has studied in China, Los Angeles and New York and he has taught and lectured at various locations throughout the South Shore, Cape Cod, Florida and Los Angeles. Paul founded and developed the Tai Qi program for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and has taught Tai Qi, Qi Qong and Mindfulness Meditation to MS Patients and caregivers.  He is currently helping  CCALS develop a similar program for our community and caregivers.

Paul is also a practitioner of Oriental Bodywork Therapy, an staunch proponent of herbal medicine. He is currently working on his certification as a registered somatic movement therapist at the Leven Institute for Expressive Movement in Lenox, Ma. He presently has a private bodywork and teaching practice in the greater Plymouth area.

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.

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.

Return to top