Evening Star End-of-Life Doula Services

An End-of-Life What?

What is an End-of-Life Doula?

A doula is an assistant who provides emotional and practical support during a life transition. In the case of dying, we provide planning support early in a diagnosis, vigil support during the active dying phase, and follow-up support for loved ones two to four weeks after the death.

Which training and certifications do your Doulas hold?

Each of our Doulas have fulfilled the certification requirements established by their training organizations. All are insured.

INELDA

Momdoulary

Conscious Dying Institute

How can an EOL Doula help me?

We provide accessible and personal support tailored to your unique circumstance. Doula services are designed to help you and your family feel more confident, calm and connected. There is no blue-print for dying; we will help you navigate this complex process.

How did we get here?

Evening Star End-of-Life Doula Services was founded in 2018.

Here’s a little more about our journey.

A shift is under way; a return to understanding death as a part of life.

We came together, as kindred spirits, seeking to learn about how we die in this country. Along the path of our learning, we realized that there is a need within the current realm of dying for this most ancient and sacred of roles, Doula.

We provide loved ones and caregivers, as well as the person approaching end-of-life, with non-medical support, respite, resources and a dedicated shoulder to lean on.

Support At Any Level

Private EOL Doula Services

From initial, informational phone call to planned ritual after the final breath, from creating a legacy project from what you treasure to assisting in lightening your material load, an end-of-life doula brings HEART to your end of life planning and experience.

Initial Getting to Know You Phone Call

FREE

An opportunity to confirm how we can support you.

30 Minute Phone Call

$20

Planning topic of your choosing.

One-Hour in Person Planning Session

$55

We can meet you in your home or a neutral location to begin developing a Vigil Plan or a Legacy Project.

- We will travel within a 10-mile radius from office for free. Travel outside of the 10-mile radius will be charged going rate per mile.

In Person Support

$195

4 hours of support in private home, care home or hospital. This package offers discounted support for many different needs. What if loved ones reach a point of fatigue and need some rest? Perhaps you want to work on your Vigil Plan. Would your family like to work through the Advanced Directive form with assistance? Do you want to start a Legacy Project, gifting those you love with an emotional and spiritual sense of YOU? Can be broken into four 1-hour sessions.

Private EOL Doula Packages

Six Hour "Get to know you" Series

$295

Three 2-hour sessions in a place of your choosing.

Experience has shown us that when a doula can spend time with the dying person, while they still have energy to talk, a relationship can develop. Trust is established between the doula and the dying. A personal relationship leads to the effective use of Special Place Visualization to manage pain and anxiety. It also allows the doula to facilitate emotional movement when the dying person encounters emotional distress.

Basic End-of-Life Doula Package-Up to 20 Hours

$895

Included in the package:
1. Initial consultation by phone or in person
2. Home visits or phone appointments on an ongoing basis focusing on Life Review, Vigil and Legacy Planning.
3. Daily visits once transition begins (determined by hospice/medical team). We will check-in daily for at least one hour as necessary (determined by Client/Client Caregiver). We will mentor the family on how to utilize the Vigil Plan (if created) and see where support is needed.

4. Respite support

Material Artifact Re-Organization Doula Services

Whether you are facing a terminal diagnosis or you are ready to move forward in remembering a loved one who has already passed on, we are here to help. We evaluate the tasks at hand, then coach and support you in how to curate, store, archive or even showcase possessions and mementos. We seek to reaffirm the story of your life while lifting a weight off of your shoulders, or those of your loved ones. Sound appealing? We understand. We'll support you with grounded curiosity and openness.

60-minute conversation by Phone

$55

-This can be a cost-effective way to determine how best to tackle your organizational needs, in a way that suits both your timeframe and your budget. We’ll discuss where you are with your current needs and where you want to be. You’ll come away with a better understanding of what needs doing and how to get it done.

Two-hour In-Home planning session

$110

-This visit will include an initial visual assessment of what needs organizing, a determination of who will do the work and how, a bevy of local resources to utilize, and will result in receiving an active management plan plus a reasonable timeline.
- We will travel within a 10-mile radius from office for free. Travel outside of the 10-mile radius will be charged going rate per mile.

Four-hour In-Home re-organizing session

$220

- We’ll meet with you to determine what your needs are, develop a management plan and timeline, and devote 1-2 hours to initial organization (which can include storage container shopping, curating local resources and providing support for phone-calls made to local storage units, and/or packing).

Follow-up in-home support sessions

$75/hour

- These support sessions can include: storage system creation, archiving personal mementos, packing/moving boxes and crates,

-It’s important to note that the work involved in this type of planning and support requires professional skill, the use of vetted local resources, and physical labor orchestrated in a thoughtful and timely manner. Our re-organizing doulas have been trained and certified in these areas. Sliding scale services are available, please inquire.

Basic Material Artifact Re-Organizing Package

$995

Up to 20 hours included:
1. Initial consultation.
2. Home visits and phone appointments on an ongoing basis can include:
- Emotional, spiritual and/or physical support
- In-person material artifact review
- Coaching client through what to keep, gift, donate, store, sell, and/or showcase
- Co-creation of management plan and timeline
- Assistance with packing/storing/moving belongings
- Developing Legacy Projects and/or showcasing of personal memorabilia
- Support of family members and loved ones

Sliding scale available, Please inquire.

Support and Services

From initial, informational phone call to planned ritual after the final breath, from creating a legacy project from what you treasure and assisting in lightening your material load, an end-of-life doula brings HEART to your end of life planning and experience.

Private Client Testamonial

"If you realize that you have the need for reassurance on life and tender loving company, ask Christine to come into your home and your heart. Christine will help you understand the kind, soft workings of your being. She will let you open up and make you feel good about yourself. Christine is an absolute blessing that you will be thankful to share." -testamonial written by hospice patient NB 9/2016

Letter Writing Special

Letter writing is a straight-forward, meaningful way to provide a legacy element for your family. Taking half an hour to work with an end of life doula to create a personal letter to a loved one is time well spent for both the writer and the family member. Leaving your thoughts, big or small, personal, philosophical or faith based, for family members to engage with over and over allows relationships to deepen, even after your death. It also eases end of life anxiety, knowing you've said your piece.

With this special offer, you can dictate a letter over the phone that will be hand written on plain stationary and mailed to the address you designate. Gentle prompting and questioning will guide you in expressing your feelings if this is challenging for you.

A copy of the letter will be mailed to you upon request.

This is a perfect gift to give to a family member facing a terminal diagnosis. It's also a great gift for your aging family members who may be challenged with the physical aspects of writing.

Please schedule via phone or message.

Cost: 30 minute call- $28

60 minute call- $45

How is this different than hospice?

We provide:

- support before a terminally ill patient enters hospice.

- longer periods of support time during transition and active dying.

- support to patients who access Death with Dignity.

- more availability than either chaplains or social workers which allows us to do things with more depth and continuity.

- vigil planning and legacy work. More time allows us to do our work in a focused, intentional and calm way.

- assistance making a legacy project concrete, not just a concept.

- guided visualization work. This is complementary to medicine and specific to the dying individual.

- support in an individual’s private home, retirement/care home or hospital.

-family and doula follow-up meetings 2-4 weeks after the death.