Local nonprofit organization Santa Barbara Village is partnering with the Board Resource Center to host an important focus group, with the goal of improving resource materials available to the public regarding end-of-life care and treatment decision-making and planning.

The focus group is open to the public, and participants will each receive a Trader Joe’s $20 gift card for their time.

The group, discussing “Tools to Help People Make Decisions About End-of-Life Care & Treatment,” will meet from 2 to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 14 at 524 Chapala St. in Santa Barbara. Space is limited, and RSVPs are required to hannah@sbvillage.org or 805.729.5038.

There are many choices to make about the type of care and treatment you want to receive at the end of your life. Yet it can be confusing trying to figure out what your choices are and how to make your wishes known.

“Resource materials available to the public are often confusing, unclear or overwhelming to people,” said Naomi Kovacs, executive director of Santa Barbara Village. “Additionally, planning ahead for end-of-life care may feel uncomfortable or unnerving, or may not seem pressing enough at the moment, so oftentimes people just don’t do it. But by getting clear on your wishes ahead of time, you are actually giving a gift to both yourself and your loved ones. When you let others know your wishes, both you and they can rest easier knowing that if the time comes when someone else needs to make care and treatment decisions on your behalf, they already know what you would want them to do.”

Santa Barbara Village is hosting this special focus group led by the Board Resource Center (which specializes in user-friendly information) to help the BRC gather input from the public to guide them in creating new decision-making and planning materials (such as booklets and videos) in everyday, easy-to-understand language.

As Mark Starford of the Board Resource Center explains, “Hearing from the public before creating materials designed for them is essential to ensure effectiveness and usability.”

They are looking for people to share their personal experiences with end-of-life planning and learning materials aimed at helping people understand their choices, as well as their personal ideas about how to help people express their wishes.

For more information, contact Starford at mark@brcenter.org or 916.574.1023.

— Naomi Kovacs is executive director of Santa Barbara Village.