Help Laurie & Wake Grow Communities of Care

Look at these gorgeous faces! These folks were the first cohort of Wake's Community Deathcare Provider training, a free, 20-hour training designed to give them the skills and knowledge necessary to be volunteer support to the dying and their caregivers in their families and communities. Piloting the CDP program is how we used the money raised on GiveNOLA Day last year.

And we want to keep the momentum going.

As Wake's Programs Manager, I can tell you absolutely that when people call me, their top needs are around not having enough money (Funeral Poverty is a thing) and not having enough help. We can't do much about the costs associated with the funeral industry on our own (although we're trying!), but especially here in New Orleans, a city that knows about mutual aid and neighbors helping neighbors, we can help people get the help they need.

The money we raise on GiveNOLA Day will help us pilot the Communities of Care program - a circle of social connection between unrelated people in the community who come together to learn and practice mutual aid in order to foster trust bonds meant to endure through the lifespan. 

Your donation will support the creation of a program that will engage trained volunteers to support older adults through ongoing, repeated points of contact. Volunteers will assist with simple activities of daily living, provide social connection, and facilitate structured conversations about life goals, caregiving preferences, and end-of-life planning. 

We'll pilot the program and document our process and share our methodology, because we know Caregiver Overwhelm isn't just a problem where we live. It's a national crisis.

Please help if you are able.