“Dignity is as essential to human life as water, food, and oxygen”
- Laura Hillenbrand
About this pilot project
As an organization whose mission is to work with communities (geographical, social and spiritual) to improve equitable access to end-of-life care, it is our belief that we all deserve dignity, compassion and culturally sensitive human connection at the end of our lives. The goal of our pilot project is to build and mobilize a complete care offering that addresses the needs of the houseless and street involved population when those needs are related to dying, death and grief.
Home Hospice Association (HHA) is committed to achieving our goal by implementing a multifaceted approach that includes the delivery of comprehensive training, personalized mentorship, and essential grief support services. With a profound understanding of the numerous challenges inherent in overwhelming social problems such as homelessness, marginalization, and poverty, we are poised to address these complexities head-on.
Confronted with what can feel like insurmountable human suffering, we are dedicated to making a tangible impact from the outset. Through the diligent implementation and continuous growth of our program, we aim to drive positive change within our target communities, fostering an environment that promotes compassionate care for all people experiencing houselessness who are facing death.
The training experience of our Death Doulas and Infant & Pregnancy Loss Doulas will be the difference-maker in our approach. Within the next 12 months, the commitment of our Death Doula community along with the expertise and dedication of our Project Working Team will ensure this pilot moves forward to full program roll-out.
Who this project is intended to serve
Our program will consist of services and solutions to care for:
• Those living on the streets
• Those accessing the shelter system
• Members of both their chosen family and (when in the best interest of our primary client) their biological family
• Those volunteering to support in all levels and areas of care
• Those working in a professional caregiving capacity serving the needs of this population
How this new program will help
How to Talk with Kids about Dying Death & Grief Certificate Program; customized and delivered to workers in youth shelters and youth-focussed service organizations (working with at-risk, marginalized and street involved populations) and delivered to workers in Youth Offender Centres
Compassionate Caregiving Online Training; customized to specifically meet the needs of those working both in a volunteer and professional caregiving capacity
Our Babies, Our Grief Progressive Healing Group; delivered through women’s shelters, including shelters meeting the needs of those escaping domestic violence
The Bello Project; delivered specifically to meet the re-homing needs of a pet whose street involved owner is in the last months of life
Day Hospice for the Street Involved; using the foundation of our Experiential Day Hospice Program and customized to meet the needs of street involved populations
Hospice at Home (wherever someone calls home); delivered with the support of HHA-trained Death Doulas
Our ultimate goal is to support the end-of-life care needs of those who do not have a permanent place to call home, and - when unavoidable - to ensure care transitions to (typically) a hospital setting. Offering extensive opportunities for support through education, mentorship, and volunteerism gives us the greatest chance of meeting our goal of providing holistic care wherever someone calls home, be that a shelter, a tent, a curbside, a cardboard box, or any other dwelling.
Get Involved
Join our Pilot Project Team
We’re looking for dedicated individuals to help us grow our Houseless Hospice Pilot Project.
If you’re interested in helping us develop and implement this pilot, we’d love to hear from you! 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 houseless population
Please use our volunteer application form to reach out!
Join our Moonlit Memory Walk
The Moonlit Memory Walk is our major annual fundraiser. For our 2024 event, the Houseless Hospice Pilot Team is walking to build funds and awareness for our project! Join Team Captain Tracey Robertson and the rest of our team and help ensure those facing life (and death) "on the streets" receive equitable access to compassionate care.
Become a member of our walking "Houseless Hospice" walking team.
Or if you can't join us, please consider supporting our team with a donation!
Project Pilot Team
Pilot Project Progress
May 2023: Eastern Ontario Chapter Board determines that the Ottawa Houseless Population is the key population to focus on as their chapter re-establishes post-pandemic. This decision jump-started this Pilot Project.
July 2023: Team is established and first fundraising for pilot begins with the creation of our Houseless Team walking in Home Hospice Association’s Moonlit Memory Walk.
More updates coming in September 2024!
Donate
Your donation helps support those on our project team who do this important work to ensure that every individual, regardless of their circumstances, has personalized support at the end of life that honors their heritage, beliefs, and traditions. Each donation helps us to mobilize compassionate care for all, including those facing death "on the streets".
