Village Deathcare Non-Profit
What is Village Deathcare?
Village Deathcare empowers individuals, families and communities through education, modeling, and one-on-one caregiving to spiritually, emotionally and physically support the dying. The focus is on health and well-being throughout the life-cycle, understanding that an awareness of mortality awakens a completeness of the preciousness of life. Village Deathcare consults or collaborates with doctors, hospice staff, therapists, town clerks, schools, chaplains, spiritual centers and other community members and organizations to create more cohesive awareness around end-of-life plans/directives, care and disposition. This non-medical form of death doula care encourages community deathcare in holistic and therapeutic modalities to reduce anxiety and existential fears by encouraging clarity through mindfulness, breathing practices, education, self-love, ancestral healing and multicultural support.
Village Outings and Social Club
Who said aging can’t be fun? Connecting with each other when we are not as mobile as we once were can be a challenge. The Outings & Social Club brings us to matinees, brunches, parks, museums and sometimes to a hearth just for knitting, chatting and drinking tea. (And, if there is interest, we can venture to far-off lands as well!) This club is designed for those ages 65+ but younger chauffeurs are welcome! Schedule and details coming soon.
Anam Cara/ Death Doula Services
Death companioning is assistance through the dying process, sometimes called a death doula, end-of-life doula or in Irish Gaelic, an Anam Cara is a “soul friend.” Village Deathcare offers one-on-one conversational and/or physical support, creative therapeutic modalities and ceremony services for human, animal and nature. Request services or information by clicking on the button below. A trained Village Deathcare Citizen will be happy to reply to you.
You may have questions about paperwork, setting up the flow in your home or in a facility, organizing meals or community support. You may also have a need for physical care for yourself or another…
You may have questions about how to companion your animal through the natural process of dying, if euthanasia is right for your pet or maybe you are looking for ways to memorialize your furry (or scaly or feathery) friend…
The death or deterioration of a special tree, land, or sacred space is worth mourning– the loss can sometimes take us by surprise…
Healing and companioning is done in more spaces than just our physical world. Chaplain services, Reiki, light being, shadow work and ancestral support…
Psychedelics have been proven to reduce anxiety and existential dread in those who are working with end of life. Speak with an educated therapist or ask about session attendants…
The “little deaths” such as a divorce, a move, the loss of a job, retirement, can sometimes feel as heavy as a physical death. Learning how to grieve is a art that must be rewoven into our society. We are here to listen and share…
Information sharing, emotional support or planning is sometimes easier with a group of friends, coworkers or in community…
Companionship and guidance through post-mortem care, home funerals, green or home burial support can make all the difference when emotions and paperwork feel overwhelming. A trained and experienced guide can answer your questions…
You are never alone and the path you are walking is one that has been walked before- creating your family tree and connecting with your ancestry can be a powerful, life-long, through death support.
We are expanding in every community across the United States, Canada and Mexico. Train to become a Village Deathcare Citizen or inquire about ways to volunteer…
Village Deathcare is a 501c3 nonprofit and your donation is fully tax deductible. Your patronage supports community deathcare in every community where there are volunteers…
Interested in the next step? Help us build/buy/create this Anam Cara doula house for the dying…
Village Deathcare Council
Pablo Coddou
Pablo was born to immigrant parents, grew up in New York City and Chile and has travelled extensively through Europe, South America, Asia and Africa. A transpersonal therapist in Vermont with 20 years of practice in meditation he is tri-lingual (English, Spanish, French) and identifies as Latino with indigenous roots of Mapuche and Aroucan. Pablo was an active caregiver and advocate for his non-English speaking father during his father’s last two years of life.
Carey Aiossa
Carey traveled with the Peace Corp in Ecuador for two years then lived for a year in Guatemala working on women’s rights. She is a bi-lingual (English, Spanish) criminal defense lawyer in the city of Chicago though her home state is Vermont. She is a vegetarian, an animal lover, avid pepper grower, and identifies as white with Italian and Irish ancestry.
Karen Vogan
Karen has early college education in geology and floral design, then later trained as a mediator. She travelled to the Middle East to study women’s rights and is an attendant in a state correctional center where she initiated an anti-racism and inclusivity team. A meditator of ten years, she lives in Vermont and identifies as white with ancestral roots in Scotland and England. Karen was a caregiver for her grandmother during the last years of her life.
Diana Muñiz
Diana Muniz’s undergrad studies were in public relations and journalism before she began a career as an arts educator and art teacher for 20 years. She taught in Montessori schools, museums, galleries and nonprofits and worked with incarcerated youth as an art and social justice teacher for a juvenile detention center. Diana’s home land is Central America and her first language is Spanish. She is an end-of-life educator, hospital Chaplain in Houston and also works part-time as a hospice Chaplain.
Anne-Marie Keppel
Of Irish Celtic and Finnish Sámi (Indigenous European) descent, Anne-Marie is a community deathcare educator, lead teacher of the death doula training Village Deathcare Citizen and founder of the nonprofit Village Deathcare. A national award-winning author from her book “Death Nesting: Ancient & Modern Death Doula Techniques, Mindfulness Practices and Herbal Care”, she draws from her work as a doula, nurse assistant, life-long meditator, Reiki Master Teacher and mother of three. She is a certified facilitator in the Buddhist path of Feeding Your Demons®, is a Life-Cycle Celebrant® and trained home funeral guide with a focus on Vermont Family Directed funerals. She lives with her family in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont.
Sonya-Prajna Patrick - Anam Cara & Death Doula ~ Washington
Sonya-Prajna Patrick, Ph.D., D. Div., CHt, of African, British, Irish, Eastern Asia and American Indigenous Ancestry, has always been fascinated with seeking knowledge and understanding regarding metaphysical studies, intuitive awareness and Ancestral connection. She is a Usui Shiki Ryoho Reiki Master and Teacher, a certified yoga instructor, a Certified Crystal Healer and a Certified Hypnotherapist. She is qualified to provide services in past life regression, spiritual soul retrieval, and spiritual journeying.
Sonya-Prajna has a Ph.D. in Parapsychology and Paranormal Sciences, a Doctorate of Divinity in Spiritual Counseling and is an Ordained Reverend.
A weaver of the many languages of spiritual beings, she has translated the work into the physical world in her work as a Speech-Language Pathologist having experience with working with all ages. She has integrated the learned knowledge and abilities into her life, and she brings enthusiasm and joy to teaching, and those she works with.
Kimberly Marsha~ Anam Cara & Death Doula ~ Vermont
Kimberly has deep roots and affection for her birth state of Vermont where she homesteads on the land of the Nulhegan Abenaki Tribe with her family. Her ancestors arrived to this country from Ireland, England, Germany, Slovakia, and Austria. Kim is a seasoned Integrative Massage Therapist offering energetic healing in her practice and has completed a diverse range of death doula training, most recently becoming a Village Deathcare Citizen graduate. Kimberly has companioned friends, family, pets and animals through their sacred transition for over a decade’s time, walking closely and compassionately with love and the grief that stirs.
Jenn LeBlanc ~ Anam Cara for the Wild ~ Vermont
Jenn is a teacher, artist, writer, reiki/shamanic practitioner, and Galdrakona that focuses on the use of vocal sound to rebalance the body, mind, and soul and communicate to the earth and all beings that inhabit it. A fourth generation Vermonter, she blends her Northern European ancestry with the indigenous teachings of the mountains and streams of Vermont to support various types of transitions. Her formal education from UVM in Integrated Biological Science and Anthropology allows her a scientific perspective to explore the landscape, utilizing physics and biological theories to create a cohesive energetic experience on multiple levels.
Irisanya Moon ~ Anam Cara & Death Doula ~ California
Of mainly German, British, and Irish descent, Irisanya is an author, initiated Witch, ritualist, international teacher, and deathcare worker who completed two Village Deathcare Citizen training courses. Her work and service are inspired by the losses of parents, mentors, loves, and furry creatures. In her tradition, the phrase ‘What is remembered, lives’ is the foundation of honoring the Beloved Dead, knowing we will all join their memory. She is practiced in priestessing the complexities of grief and death, including organizing community resources for the dying and those who love them, sitting vigil, creating rituals & celebrations, offering emotional support, scheduling & basic paperwork, writing obituaries and eulogies, and supporting other magickal and non-magickal needs for humans and animals. Irisanya is located in California, but loves to travel whenever she gets the chance.
Braelyn Gillespie ~ Anam Cara & Death Doula ~ Vermont
Humbled by their teachings, Braelyn holds deep reverence for the plant allies that make their home alongside her family on Abenaki land in Northeastern Vermont. A mom of four, no stranger to grief and loss and a close friend of death, Braelyn strives to support her local and global community through the practice of herbal body oiling, especially in the final stages of life.
Meredith ~ Anam Cara & Death Doula ~ California
My name is Meredith. I descend from my ancestors of Ireland and Scotland. Currently, I live in Northern California amongst the redwood, oak, and madrone trees. I serve my community by volunteering for hospice and by attending to those who are dying and the families of those who are dying. I’m a huge advocate for Death Cafes. They’ve been a wonderful way for our community here to better look at death and dying- together.
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