Finding Connection in Life and Loss

Help Navigating the System When Life Changes In this episode we are joined by Claire Walsh and Nora Durcan from the Department of Social Protection in Sligo, alongside Orla Barry from Citizens Information. Together they walk through the financial and practical supports available when illness, caring or bereavement reshapes a family's life; illness benefit, invalidity pension, disability allowance, carer's allowance, carer's benefit, the carer's support grant, domiciliary care allowance, supplementary welfare and the new bereaved partner's pension. They explain the fast-track process for terminal illness, how to appoint an agent, how to appeal a decision, and how the access officer service supports vulnerable customers. Their message is simple: these supports are a right, not a charity, and there are real people ready to help you take the first step. Discover The Journey Together, a podcast by North West Hospice Charity. Hear advice, personal stories, guidance and emotional support for patients, families, and caregivers navigating palliative care. "Seeking support is not a charity. It's a right within the social importance of social assistance."

Practical Financial Support When Life Changes Tomas Kelly is a dedicated mortgage arrears advisor with the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) in Sligo, supporting people and families through some of the most stressful financial moments of their lives. In this conversation he walks through the practical supports available when illness or caregiving changes a household's income ; from carer's allowance and the carer's support grant to mortgage payment breaks, charitable funds, wills, enduring power of attorney and the Think Ahead form. Tomas is clear that MABS is free, confidential and non-judgmental, and that the service is there long before anyone is in serious debt. He gently names the shame and embarrassment that keep people from asking, and reminds listeners that lenders, employers and the social welfare system are far more human than fear allows us to believe. Discover The Journey Together, a podcast by North West Hospice Charity. Hear advice, personal stories, guidance and emotional support for patients, families, and caregivers navigating palliative care.

Why She Has Never Stopped Talking About It When Mary Forte's husband Anthony was dying, a friend suggested a hospice bed, and Mary's first reaction was that hospice is where people go to die. Two days later she walked through the door of North West Hospice and was met with a cup of tea, a slice of toast, and ten months she now describes as the most positive experience of the hardest time in her family's life. Mary talks with Tara about Anthony's care, about the nurses who quietly minded the whole family while she thought they were only minding him, and about the hardest thing the hospice ever asked of them, which was to stop pretending and tell the children the truth. She went back years later as a healthcare assistant and now works as the charity's commercial manager, running the shop, the volunteers and the garden she once landscaped by hand. Warm, funny and entirely without varnish, this is the story of why she has never stopped talking about the place. Discover The Journey Together, a podcast by North West Hospice Charity. Hear advice, personal stories, guidance and emotional support for patients, families, and caregivers navigating palliative care.

Palliative Care Is Not the End of the Story In this episode of The Journey Together, Tara Rafter is joined by Dr Anna Cleminson, Consultant in Palliative Care at North West Hospice, where she has spent more than a decade supporting individuals and families living with life-limiting illness. Anna grew up at a breakfast table where palliative care was already a conversation; her father trained under Dame Cicely Saunders in London, and that early exposure shaped a career built around listening first and treating second. She talks through what the consultant role really involves across community, hospital and inpatient settings, why palliative care is so often misunderstood as "the end of the road," and the small day-to-day moments that good care protects. Warm, candid and full of practical reassurance, this is a conversation that gently dismantles a lot of the fear that surrounds the word "palliative." Discover The Journey Together, a podcast by North West Hospice Charity. Hear advice, personal stories, guidance and emotional support for patients, families, and caregivers navigating palliative care.

Why Palliative Care Isn't a White Flag Dr Conor Mitchell is a GP partner at Bayview Family Practice in Ballyshannon, GP lead for CHO Sligo South Donegal, and a long-time collaborator with North West Hospice. In this conversation he offers a warm, practical GP's-eye view of palliative care, dismantling the idea that it only belongs at the very end of life. Conor speaks about the dual carriageway of treatment and palliative approach running side by side, the importance of having your GP rather than just any GP, and the four domains of need; medical, psychological, social and spiritual, that a good palliative approach holds. With humour, humility and a deep respect for the families doing the daily work at home, he reminds listeners that palliative care is about living longer, living better, and living the way you want. Discover The Journey Together, a podcast by North West Hospice Charity. Hear advice, personal stories, guidance and emotional support for patients, families, and caregivers navigating palliative care.