Getxo's Compassionate Community
The book 'Compassionate Communities in Action' (Routledge), which examines the experience of Getxo Zurekin, is now available. The chapter explores the community-based organization in the municipality aimed at providing better support and care during the end-of-life process.
What is Getxo Zurekin?
It is a social innovation platform launched by the Doble Sonrisa Foundation. Its goal is to help society as a whole understand the importance of end-of-life care, death, and grief, and how to cope with unwanted loneliness.
Since its creation in 2017, the project has focused on three areas:
- Awareness: Helping society discuss and understand these processes.
- Training: Providing tools to residents and professionals.
- Research: Understanding what the community needs and what resources it already has.
Getxo Zurekin does not seek to replace doctors or social services, but rather to complement them. Its goal is to create a care system in which residents themselves and local networks actively participate.
The value of the local network
The book highlights how the project has succeeded in engaging people from a wide range of sectors: from nursing home staff and the public sector to pharmacies, hair salons, and funeral services. The goal is for anyone going through a difficult time to feel supported by those closest to them.
This work led to Getxo being officially recognized as a “Compassionate Community” by Public Health Palliative Care International in October 2025.
Access to the document
To make it easier for other cities to learn from this experience, the chapter has been published as open access. This means that anyone can read it for free, thanks to the support of Knowledge Unlatched GmbH.