Vision
In our world no one dies alone, unless by choice.
Where love, grace and dignity that is extended to some, is now extended to all.
Mission
Our mission is to ease the suffering of the dying and their families in Montgomery County, Maryland by providing End-of-Life Doula services, training and community education.
By providing loving care, training and education, we aspire to contribute to a world where everyone can die with grace and dignity.
As a society we mistakenly have come to assume death is a disease and dying is a medical condition.
Too many people are dying alone.
Individuals that fall below the poverty level, or are counted among the working poor, will disproportionately either die alone or in undignified conditions.
As baby boomers age, statistics point to a serious shortage of caregivers during what is called the “silver tsunami.” The AARP Public Policy Institute estimates there will be fewer and fewer family members to care for their loved ones in their final days. On the local level, the U.S. Census Bureau reports nearly 7% of persons in Montgomery County, MD — about 70,000 people — live below the poverty line. This population faces insurmountable obstacles to provide for their own end-of-life care. Further, the existing facilities, organizations and hospices in our local communities are struggling to meet this need.
The Need
Our Path Forward
The Good Hearts is a charitable organization that will assist individuals and underserved communities by training, mentoring and empowering. We will be offering the following programs:
Certified End-of-Life Doulas & End-of-Life Companion
The Good Hearts definition of an End-of-Life Doula is a non-medical professional who supports a terminally ill person and their loved ones' physical, emotional and spiritual (holistic) needs. This program will address the caregiver shortage, especially for individuals without financial resources and/or lack of family support.
The Good Hearts will provide End-of-Life (EOL) Companion trainings as part of its community outreach. The Good Hearts definition of End-Of-Life Companions are trained volunteers from within their community who will provide compassionate support.
We will be an educational resource to guide, mentor and empower communities and their loved ones on this sacred journey.
The Good Hearts response to this health care crisis is to challenge the status quo. We not only wish to invite change, we want to implement it, but to do so, we need your support.