Home Hospice Association
Eastern Ontario Chapter
We believe in exploring and respecting choices and are committed to providing those facing death and their loved ones a supportive, compassionate environment throughout illness, death, and bereavement. As a pillar in communities throughout Eastern Ontario, our vision is to engage with and enrich peoples’ lives.
With a focus on dignity, compassion, and culturally sensitive human connection, Home Hospice Association empowers communities to help people die wherever they call home.
Eastern Ontario Chapter Directors, Officers & Local Leadership
We meet the 1st Tuesday of every month.
If you’re passionate about wanting to provide equitable access to quality end-of-life care in our community and would like to join our Chapter Board or Become a Chapter Board Member, we’d love to hear from you! Email volunteer@homehospiceassociation.org and we’ll follow up with you.
It Takes a Village: Thank you to our Chapter Partners!
If your agency or organization serves clients or patients nearing the end of life, we can help you make care for these people and their loved ones even more accessible and holistic. Visit our community partnerships page to learn how we work with our agency partners to increase access to compassionate end-of-life care across Canada.
Be part of our future and partner with our Chapter today!
Follow us on Facebook to find out about all the great things happening in our Chapter!
How We Help
Metis Nation of Ontario
Home Hospice Association has partnered with the MNO to support the development of end-of-life education, services and support systems for its citizens. From the customization of our Compassionate Caregiving online training to the mobilization of Death Doulas, we’re committed to meeting the cultural, social and spiritual needs of the MNO in collaboration with their existing staff and front-line workers. We began working with the MNO in March with a three-day Compassionate Caregiving and Death Awareness Workshop at the Intercontinental Hotel in downtown Toronto (see photos here!), and will continue to work with their 37 communities to develop and implement care for their members facing death and those who love and care for them.
Death Doula Mentorship
Given that the Death Doula community is such a vital part of how we can effectively mobilize compassionate end-of-life care, supporting the on-going mentorship and training of HHA Death Doulas and Candidates in Eastern Ontario is one of our Chapter’s key priorities. If you are an HHA Death or Infant & Pregnancy Loss Doula / Candidate be sure to check out our Doula Social & Training Calendar of events. And if you're interested in Becoming a Death Doula or Infant & Pregnancy Loss Doula, check out our Certificate Programs and upcoming training dates.
The Bello Project
Our Chapter is committed to keeping pets and their owners together when the owner is facing death with HHA's Bello Project. Thanks to our partners at the Cedarview Animal Hospital, we have been raising money to support the growth of The Bello Project through the recruitment of volunteers willing to help in front-line care while we establish agency partnerships for long-term program sustainability.
We also greatly appreciate the support of Google and their “Googler Doodler Days”, which helps us raise money with our PAWcasso’s Studio pop-up event. Our community partner St. Peter’s Lutheran Church and The Blessing of the Animals also offers our community a special opportunity to honour the human-animal bond.
Our Babies, Our Grief
Through HHA’s Our Babies, Our Grief progressive healing group model, our trained Chapter leaders support those who have experienced Pregnancy and Infant Loss - whether the loss occurred days ago or decades ago.
Our Babies, Our Grief 6-week progressive healing group is facilitated by our Chapter's Carole Brule, Jen Gillian and Jen Thomspon, and is being offered in-person in Almonte as well as online.
Leadership member, Carole Brule, is also involved in testing a new version of Our Babies, Our Grief, for those who experienced a loss many years or even decades ago.
Death Education
Community Workshops & Presentations
We provide our community outreach and education workshops and presentations free of charge for organizations across the Ottawa area, thanks to local partners, such as Chartwell Residences (New Edinburgh).
Learn more about our community workshops and presentations and how you can invite us to your organization!
In-Person Death Cafes
HHA’s Death Cafes are an important part of our Death Education programming because of how they help to normalize death through open and honest conversation. Our Chapter is proud to offer our Death Cafes at the Ottawa Public Library.
If you would like to become a host partner for an HHA Death Cafe in the Ottawa area, we’d love to hear from you!
Online Death Cafes
At HHA, we strive to normalize death and talking about dying, death and grief, because a culture that silences these conversations and tries to ignore the reality that we’ll all die one day inevitably creates societies where people can’t get the support they need when they or a loved one is facing death.
We offer online general and community-specific (e.g. Caregivers, BIPOC, Parents & Guardians, 2SLGBTQ+, etc.) Death Cafés so that people can meet to explore their relationships with dying, death and grief. As we grapple with what life looks like today, having a safe and non-judgmental space to talk about difficult subjects is so important and can have a significant impact both on how we live and how we die.
Fundraising
Moonlit Memory Walk
Our Chapter is proud to host not one - but two! - of the 5 official Moonlit Memory Walk Locations this year! We hope to see you either in Almonte or Ottawa!
HHA’s annual Moonlit Memory Walk fundraiser helps us raise awareness for the amazing work we’re doing in our Chapter. Plus, the funds collected from this event stay in our community, helping to improve compassionate end-of-life care and support here in Eastern Ontario!
If you're interested in helping to plan the event or volunteering on-site, please check out our Moonlit Memory Walk volunteer opportunities.
Eric Elliott Memorial Scholarship Fund
The Eric Elliott Memorial Scholarship Fund was established in 2024 by Eric's parents, Ryan and Amanda, and his grandmother, Tammy Elliott, in collaboration with Home Hospice Association. By providing training opportunities in Infant and Pregnancy Loss Support, the fund aims to increase the number of trained professionals capable of offering compassionate care to individuals affected by the devastating loss of a pregnancy or infant.
Your support makes a meaningful difference in the lives of those who have experienced the loss of an infant or pregnancy. With your generosity, we can cover program tuition fees, enabling participants the comprehensive training required to provide crucial emotional, spiritual, and practical support to bereaved families.
Get Involved
Prison Hospice Pilot
Our Chapter actively participates in the National Board's Pilot Project group working on how to provide equitable access to end-of-life care within both the national and provincial prison system.
We're looking for dedicated individuals who believe that we all deserve dignity and compassion at the end of our lives to help us with our new Prison Hospice Pilot Project. The goal of this project is to build and mobilize a complete care offering that addresses the dying, death and grief needs of the incarcerated population, those paroled, and those who love and/or care for them.
We’re specifically looking for people who have experience in one or more of the following areas:
Project management and Team engagement
Social work or Social services work
End-of-life care, Death Doulas
Marketing and/or Fundraising
Experience working with the prison population and/or their families
If you’re interested in joining our Project Working Team, please fill out our Volunteer Application and specify “Prison Hospice Pilot” on the form.
Compassionate Companioning Volunteers
Compassionate care requires compassionate volunteers. We continue to be committed to ensuring that we have a growing and vibrant community of compassionate caregivers to support the front-line care work needed across our Chapter. Having enough volunteers also allows us to establish new programs in our Chapter and support even more members of our communities.
If you’re interested in becoming a Compassionate Companion in Eastern Ontario, please reach out to us about taking our Compassionate Companioning Online Training. Join our team and help build the capacity of this Chapter!
