How To Be a Genuine Death Work Ally
As I continue to bring my death care practice into #alignment , I want to ensure that I am truly being an ally to other #deathworkers , locally and abroad. Here are 5 ways that we can genuinely support the emergence of the holistic death care movement and amplify the voices of other death workers. I’ll be highlighting some of my favorite IG accounts in the next few days.
1: Pull in the expertise of others. If you are speaking to burial shrouds as an alternative to harmful burial materials, how about highlighting some of the amazing burial shroud makers IG: @by_hand_osage_creek . If you are speaking to grief, source your local grief doula IG: @sasharose36 or an online grief resource IG: @griefandgrits . We can’t be it all!
2: Be honest about your capacity. If you have a client call and you are stretched thin, who are your local colleagues to refer to? If the potential client has a disease you are unfamiliar with but another local doula has served this illness before, make a connection.
3: Use your platform to lift others up. Instead of focusing on ourselves, what if we spoke supportively of others who are inspiring us? Read a great post, share it! Love a training, highlight it IG: @n.elizabeth.bazen.death.life . Hosting a gathering in a community with other death and grief workers, invite them to collaborate!
4: Reciprocate generously. If a death doula refers clients to you, refer back. If someone volunteers their time making your service more beautiful and meaningful, show them appreciation by recognizing them. Let’s honor the generosity of others and pay it forward.
5: Offer one connection or resource in every conversation. I get interviewed regularly and always, ALWAYS, highlight those who have guided, inspired and mentored me. This is not giving props to the competition, it is giving props to the holistic deathcare movement.
We are a #community . Until we become a genuine #ally to the others trying to do sustainable #deathwork in our communities, we are limited by how far and wide and deep our work at changing the landscape of dying in America can go.
