PRO BONO PROGRAMS
From early in its history, INELDA has been committed to doing pro bono work. It is one of the ways we seek to provide equitable doula support for all individuals at the end of life. We have been active in creating training opportunities for incarcerated individuals and veterans to journey alongside each other when diagnosed with an illness and dying. We are also working closely with organizations caring for people experiencing homelessness to provide support both on the streets and in-patient hospice programs.
From 2017 until March 2020 INELDA partnered with Hospice San Luis Obispo (SLO) County to facilitate hospice training for inmates at the California Men’s Colony prison to support fellow inmates at the end of life. The training and support activities had to be suspended due to COVID.
In 2022-2023 INELDA engaged with the Humane Prison Hospice Project to support their efforts in facilitating a new curriculum they developed to educate incarcerated people to provide emotional support and hands-on care for their aging and dying peers in facilities where broader palliative care services already exist or are in development. This pilot project occurred at California Medical Facility—Vacaville, CA and Central California Women’s Facility—Chowchilla, CA. Participants reported that the opportunity and learning enriched their own lives in addition to the support they offer will bring compassion, care and empathy to their peers who are dying. INELDA continues to partner with the Humane Project in these efforts going forward as it evaluates, refines, and replicates the model, implements it systemwide in California prisons and shares the program with other states.
In 2019, INELDA trained veterans in Louisville, KY to serve as doulas for dying veterans in their community. That same year we partnered with Joshua House Hospice in Sacramento, CA to train doulas and support efforts to implement a startup residential hospice for terminally ill homeless people.
As has been true of other pro bono work conducted by INELDA, these trainings and opportunities would not have happened without people from the selected communities reaching out to us. If you know of such a community that would be interested in building a doula program or enriching an existing hospice program serving such a community, please let us know by sending an email to [email protected].
“During the vigil, the doulas stayed with us continuously, and used my mom’s guided visualization and music to help her stay calm and let go more easily. They supported me emotionally, eased my anxiety, and guided me through the entire process. When I look back now, I think of the doulas as angels who transformed my mom’s dying into an experience of deep meaning that I will carry through my grief and for the rest of my life.”