I am not a joiner. My idea of hell was the Girl Scouts, which my mother signed me up for without consulting me first. I have friends who belong to book clubs and serve on meaningful committees. I honor both their interests and their work, but can’t imagine putting my tush in their seats. In many ways I am a lone wolf.

So, why did I jump at the chance to be part of the founding team creating the Colorado End of Life Collaborative? Like many end of life doulas, I completed my training and certification and then stepped into the population with excitement bursting from every pore, needing to do the work, only to discover that most of the population didn’t know there was even work to be done. It was both deflating and frustrating. In the years since, I have struggled to find open doors—clients and their families who want to hire an end of life doula. Our value to the dying isn’t widely understood, in part, because we have struggled to get the word out.

As individuals, our voices are hard to hear. As a collaborative, we have a bigger presence with a much louder voice…one that is more likely to make people stop and say, “What? End of life doulas?” Those who follow that utterance with, “How do I locate one?” will find our stunning online presence with a few keystrokes, thanks to our talented web designer, Laura Walker.

Not only are we are more visible together, but we are also stronger together. We can support one another. We can co-care clients and, if things get stressful, co-care each other by providing emotional support. Working together, we can also ferret out answers to questions like, “What should we charge? Do we need insurance?” We can begin to define what a contract between end of life doulas and clients might look like, etc. As part of a collaborative, we are in a terrific position to make connections between the doula world and others in the death and dying community—connections that will serve us, affiliated businesses, and our clients in the community.

It is my belief, and the belief of others, that the Colorado End of Life Collaborative is an imperative step in growing our community. We want it to be as robust and diverse as possible. We look forward to getting to know fellow doulas, and we hope that they will invest their own talents and time in making this collaborative an organization for all who stand shoulder-to-shoulder, serving and changing the way death is done in our communities.

Welcome to the Colorado End-of-Life Collaborative! Whether you are an end-of-life doula, an affiliated end-of-life business, or a client seeking services, we are happy you are here. We are here to serve and here to help. If you would like to become a member, or an affiliated member, you will find the application instructions under your respective membership pages. If you are a client seeking services, you can search our current doula members and affiliate members on the directory page. If you have a question you need answered, please send us a message using the contact page.

We look forward to hearing from you and working with you!