end-of-life doula services

Doula services are provided on a sliding scale of $35-$75/hour. Financial assistance is available utilizing our Compassion Funds- please reach out to us at info@thepeacefulpresenceproject.org for assistance.

As a federally-recognized 501c(3) nonprofit organization, we are committed to serving all who request our services, regardless of ability to pay.

If you are a practicing End of Life Doula in Oregon, and are interested in securing foundation funding to support your work through our Compassion Funds, you can find additional information HERE.

Compassionate Bedside Presence

These visits provide private support in your home, care home or hospital. The active-dying phase can be fragile for family, and we are here to support everyone for the best outcome. We aim to empower our families to care for the dying primarily by themselves, but will visit for the number of hours you feel you need, whether it's a couple of hours a day or around the clock. We also provide support for individuals choosing Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) and Volunteer Stopping of Eating and Drinking (VSED).

We listen, we educate, we hold hands, we attend to symptoms and we provide comfort. We serve as a complement to your hospice team, for those families or individuals who need or want additional bedside support. We also offer guided visualization and meditation, Bedside Yoga, and non-medical comfort measures.

Processing Loss

We provide grief rituals, referrals and reconnection. A follow-up visit after death to reprocess the experience with family and address early grief, including referral to grief support resources in the community; or arranging a personal “grief ritual” to tell the story of the death and share memories in an intimate circle.

frequentLY ASKED questions About our Doula Services

What is a Doula?

A Peaceful Presence Doula is a compassionate companion who provides non-medical support and guidance to individuals and their loved ones as they navigate the complexities of serious illness, dying, death, and grief. Recognizing that end-of-life experiences are deeply personal and often multifaceted, doulas offer practical, emotional, physical, and spiritual care tailored to the needs and wishes of those they serve.

Doulas offer upstream care for those experiencing serious illness, caregiving challenges, bereavement, and major life transitions, as well as support in the final days/weeks/months of life.

What a Doula Does

Areas where a Peaceful Presence Doula may provide support:

● Advance Care Planning: This includes guidance on completing advance directives, discussing goals of care, and making informed decisions about medical interventions and personal wishes to ensure an individual’s values and preferences are honored.

● Life Transitions: Assisting with major life changes—such as aging, identity shifts, or relationship losses—helping individuals process and integrate change with clarity and compassion.

● Illness & Caregiving Support: Helping those facing chronic or terminal illness with education and exploration around care choices and needs, and supporting caregivers in sustaining their own well-being.

This might include:

-Education or support with VSED (Voluntary Stopping of Eating and Drinking)

and MAID (Medical Aid in Dying)

-Strengthening communication with medical teams

-Facilitation of family discussions

-Resource and support mapping for the care circle

● Grief & Bereavement: Providing presence, active listening, and companionship for those processing the loss of a loved one, including support before, during, and long after a death.

● Compassionate Companionship for the Dying Person and their Loved Ones

This might include:

-Support in finding peace and acceptance of death

-Legacy & Meaning-Making, including facilitating storytelling, ethical wills, creative projects, and rituals that honor one’s life and relationships.

-Ritual & Ceremony, including creating personalized rituals that bring comfort and acknowledge life’s thresholds before, during and after death.

-Non-medical comfort measures and guidance through the dying process

-Care coordination, including meal trains, errands, and visitor organization

-Guidance for the last months, vigil period, and aftercare

-Voluntary guidance for home funerals, when desired

What a Doula will not do:

● Medication management, changes or administration.

● We do not make any decisions or offer opinions regarding care for a client; we provide education and referrals as necessary.

● We do not impose our personal beliefs on any client. We meet you where you are with respect for your beliefs, desires and decisions.

● Hands-on physical caregiving. Doulas are not licensed home health professionals. We will gladly assist family or licensed caregivers with any care of the patient.