WHY CHOOSE INELDA?
The International End-of-Life Doula Association (INELDA), formed in 2015, is a member-based, nonprofit working to meet the non-medical needs of the dying by raising awareness of the roles of end-of-life doulas and providing education to support compassionate deathcare. We are charged with our vision of ensuring that ‘all individuals have accessible, equitable, and compassionate deathcare that holistically affirms one’s humanity and supports end-of-life choices’. These tenets guide our work and daily decision-making. We acknowledge people die everywhere and end-of-life doulas can play a vital role for the dying individual. INELDA is committed to supporting doulas in residential homes, hospices, for those incarcerated, in centers for the unhoused, and on city streets.
In order to meet the increasing needs and demands of our deathcare system, INELDA offers End-of-Life Doula Training for individuals around the world, Care Provider Doula training for facilities, and Caregiver Support Training for those seeking to support loved ones. INELDA assists hospices, palliative care services, hospitals, assisted living and long-term care facilities, and communities in establishing end-of-life doula programs to serve their populations.
Our curriculum is bolstered by a group of passionate and inclusive educators who bring years of experience in hospice, nursing, psychotherapy, education, and supporting the dying. INELDA educators have worked in ICU units, delivery rooms, private homes, hospices, AIDS service organizations, and many other spaces where people go to receive support. INELDA has trained over 7,000 doulas globally including staff at hospice organizations and medical care facilities.
INELDA has taken steps to support those who traditionally may not have access to compassionate support at the end of life. Our work has led us to give grants to help support the education of incarcerated individuals to provide care for their fellow inmates at the end of life, it has allowed us to offer pro bono training to a California hospice dedicated to people with a terminal illness who are experiencing homelessness, and to be part of the People Experiencing Homelessness (PEH) Project focused on gaining insight from lived experience about what is needed to address the service gap for people who are unhoused, terminally ill and are unable to access compassionate and supported end of life care.