INELDA Update – FEBRUARY 2023
A NOTE FROM BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT ANGELYN FRAZER-GILES
Angelyn Frazer-Giles
My mother’s death in Honduras was my first encounter with home funerals, and many years later that searing memory of my mother’s casket lying in my aunt’s living room was no longer foreign to me. I wanted to guide people through initiating their end-of-life plans as I witnessed so many people die intestate and with no plans in place. A friend sent me an article about end-of-life doulas, and that began my journey into deathcare.
In 2020 at the height of the pandemic, I became an end-of-life doula and founded Heirloom Estate and Legacy Preservation, LLC. In 2022, I was asked to join INELDA’s board.
Catherine Langley
I am a corporate attorney, but my volunteering passion has always been serving our elderly. I have also had the great privilege of being with two family members during their death journeys, most recently with my uncle who passed away in June of 2021. Two key things struck me during these experiences: first, how amazingly beautiful and sacred the dying process was, in spite of all of the grief. Second, how frustrating it was that we waited until the person was gone to celebrate that person’s life. I found the hospice staff to be like busy angels, flitting in and imparting wisdom and compassion and then flitting out again. Though my family and I were present and trying our best, I felt something important was missing. Those experiences led me to INELDA.
I am absolutely passionate about the work that end-of-life doulas are doing, and the fact that I can help an organization that is training EOL doulas to be compassionate and loving deathcare guides is immensely important to me. I truly believe that everyone, regardless of resources, should have the ability to receive care from an EOL doula at the end of their life. I think INELDA is the perfect organization to lead us toward that ambitious goal, and I am thrilled to be a part of the team.
Robyn Browning
In 2020 I first connected with INELDA and took my end-of-life doula training that December. I had considered end-of-life doula training for some time, spurred by my many years working in social services, specifically in mental health. With folks living with serious and persistent mental illness having a life span 25 years shorter than the general population, dying and death was common in my work. My training was a fantastic experience; it is what made me fall in love with INELDA, its mission, its people, its foundation of compassion and care. The biggest draw to me was the demonstrated commitment to equity. INELDA was not only saying it was committed to equity, it was actually putting its commitment into action. I knew I wanted to connect deeper with the organization. I joined the board in October 2022 and am honored to serve with such a dedicated group of folks, including staff and advisory board members. I look forward to what we will grow together to ensure that equitable, compassionate deathcare rooted in personal agency is accessible to all.
Advisory Board:
TAKE NHPCO’S SURVEY FOR END-OF-LIFE DOULAS
The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) established the End-of-Life Doula Advisory Council in 2018. Kris Kington-Barker, INELDA’s director of outreach and care provider programs, sits on this council, and INELDA is a member. The council recently created a survey to learn about the current state of collaboration between hospice agencies and end-of-life doulas. If you are currently working or volunteering with a hospice or palliative care organization or know of someone to contact at one, please consider completing or sending along this survey to help advance our doula work.
TAKE NHPCO’S SURVEY FOR END-OF-LIFE DOULAS
The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) established the End-of-Life Doula Advisory Council in 2018. Kris Kington-Barker, INELDA’s director of outreach and care provider programs, sits on this council, and INELDA is a member. The council recently created a survey to learn about the current state of collaboration between hospice agencies and end-of-life doulas. If you are currently working or volunteering with a hospice or palliative care organization or know of someone to contact at one, please consider completing or sending along this survey to help advance our doula work.
INELDA SCHOLARSHIP DEADLINE FEBRUARY 24
We are now accepting scholarship applications for five trainings, including two in-person trainings in Nampa, Idaho at Northwest Nazareen University, and Atlanta at the Loudermilk Conference Center. Our scholarships are for members of the BIPOC, LGBTQIA2S+, underserved, and low-income communities, veterans; and persons living with a disability. If you are interested in this opportunity please have your application in by February 24. Apply here
INELDA SCHOLARSHIP DEADLINE FEBRUARY 24
IN THE NEWS
This month INELDA educator Nicole Heidbreder was featured in an article in The Washingtonian about her influences and how she helps and supports the dying.