OUR STORY
Our story starts with a conversation Henry Fersko-Weiss had with Sue Cohen, a friend who introduced him to the work of birth doulas. He immediately saw the parallel with the needs of people at end of life. This led Henry to create the first end-of-life doula program at a hospice where he served as a social worker back in 2003. His passion for serving dying patients and their loved ones as doula led him to co-found INELDA in early 2015 as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. His passion was shared by our other early founders and leaders, Janie Rakow, Meredith Lawida, and Jeri Glatter. They embraced the mission to train, certify, and support new doulas as they answered their inner call to service. INELDA has also been dedicated to helping organizations, such as hospice, hospitals, and assisted living facilities, as well as communities, build their own programs. They provided the foundation on which we have grown.
Then, there is the passion of our Team, Board of Trustees, and our Advisory Councils who continue to lead the organization forward. This diverse group of individuals has extensive backgrounds as doulas, in healthcare, education, and activism. With input from the people we serve, they are committed to continually refining our offerings, expanding the vision of a “good death,” and supporting quality research on doulas. They also accept the responsibility to advocate for every individual’s ability to have the kind of death that feels right to them and honors their humanity—no matter who they are, the communities they identify with, how they live, or what they believe.
As our story keeps unfolding we also recognize the need to face the inequities in end-of-life care and the racism in our culture that affects every group and every individual. We also understand the need to diminish the reliance on a medical model in dying. It denies and obscures the internal challenges and opportunities a dying person and their loved ones face as they move through this natural life-cycle event. This is deeply important, and meaningful work, especially in our time, when the population is aging at a faster pace than at any time in history. It is work that needs all of us, our shared wisdom, energy, and yes, our passion.
The future of our story is up to all of us. How we will continue to serve the people we train, the organizations we work with, and the doula field itself depends on your engagement with INELDA. We need your voices, your experiences, your creativity. Together we can recover neglected traditions and discover new approaches that will transform the way people die.