The Lily House News & Events
Join us on Thursday, August 3 for "A Celebration of Life & Love," a benefit for the Lily House in memory of Selina Trieff (1934-2015) and in honor of Robert (Bob) Henry. It is also Bob's 90th birthday!
Our culture has long valued the care a doula provides to birthing and postpartum mothers and their families. More recently, the role that an End-of-Life Doulas (EOLD) plays in helping us approach death with mindfulness and compassion is gaining acceptance. As a community home for living and dying, the Lily House will incorporate a doula model of care — providing holistic support that centers the needs and wishes of our residents and their loved ones to help ensure the highest quality of life and death possible. Six Guiding Principles of the Doula Model of Care Non-medical support . Doulas do not perform clinical or medical tasks. Non-judgmental support . Doulas do not impose their values or exhibit bias in favor of one method of care. Family-centered approach . Doulas do not take the place of partners, family members, or other care providers. Holistic care. Doulas recognize the emotional, psychological, and spiritual aspects of the whole person and provide services with this understanding. Empowerment. Doulas promote informed decision-making and foster the individual's and and their loved one's agency. Team members. Doulas are team players with a special role. Types of Support Doulas Provide Presence and emotional support. Good listener, witness, calming influence, nurturer, troubleshooter. Proactive guidance . Anticipating needs and making a plan. Information-sharing. Objective, evidence-based education and referrals to appropriate community services and providers as needed and desired. Physical comfort and support . Hands-on techniques, help with positioning, visualization, use of the breath, and so on. Logistical support. Household help, errand-running, transportation to medical appointments, and so on. Resources from the National End-of-Life Doula Alliance Learn More About End-of-Life Doulas How to Choose an End- o f-Life Doula Directory of End-of-Life Doulas Further Reading Bonnie Catena, Co-chair of the Lily House's Development and Communications Committee, is Connector-in-Chief of Catena Connects. As an advisor, creative strategist, and copywriter for non-profit organizations, Bonnie raises funds to advance missions that are close to her heart. Bonnie was a caregiver for her father, who died of Alzheimer's disease, which inspires her to volunteer her time with the Lily House. For this article, Bonnie adapted information from the National End-of-Life Doula Alliance .
On January 13, 2023, StoryCorps recorded a conversation about death and dying with Provincetown writer and historian Steve Desroches (48) and Dawn Walsh (58), Co-founder and Executive Director of the Lily House. LISTEN HERE StoryCorps is an independent, non-profit organization with a mission to preserve and share humanity’s stories — connecting people and creating a more compassionate world.
Thank you to Abraham Storer at the Provincetown Independent for writing a wonderful article that captures the spirit of community and collaboration that is at the heart of the Lily House! We invite you to support our "community barn raising" efforts by contributing to our TernSOLAR Challenge and helping us raise $30,000 in matching grant funds for solar panels at the Lily House. Together, we are creating a sustainable and beautiful community home for compassionate end-of-life care.
Students of Jeffrey J. Bemiss, a filmmaker and Visiting Assistant Professor of Film Studies at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, chose the Lily House as the subject of a short documentary. Benjamin A. Craig, one of the students who spent an October 2022 weekend with us in Wellfleet, shared why he and his classmates decided to feature our community home for living and dying for their film project. "We were interested in exploring different topics from a documentary filmmaker’s perspective. Our interests ranged drastically across many different subjects, but ultimately we were collectively intrigued by the concept of the “wind phone” or “kaze no denwa” located in ÅŒtsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, Japan. This led us to research and to see if we could locate other “wind phone” concepts scattered around the United States, the east coast and elsewhere in the world. Like a kind of beacon, the wind phone installation in Provincetown ultimately led us to discover the Lily House, the Positive Death Movement and stories of a Death Doula living out on the cape — Dawn Walsh. That’s when we decided to research this topic further, and to reach out to Dawn to see if we could film a documentary." All of us at the Lily House are deeply grateful to Jeff, Ben, and every Trinity College student involved with this project. We'll be sure to notify our community when the documentary is available to view!
a week of free death education, art, and conversation October 10-15, 2022 Provincetown Commons 46 Bradford Street, Provincetown, MA
