You don't need to have a care plan—or even know what questions to ask—before reaching out. Often our first work together is simply listening to what is happening, identifying what feels most pressing, and exploring what kinds of support might be useful.

A doula is a non-medical caregiver who offers emotional, physical, and practical support during life’s major transitions. As an end-of-life doula, we walk alongside the dying and their loved ones—offering guidance, comfort, and presence before, during, and after death. Doulas do not replace hospice care—we complement it, helping families feel supported, empowered, and less alone.

Dying is an inward process while also a communal experience. Bedside vigil takes place when a person is actively dying. It is a time for devotional presence. Loved ones may build an altar, sing, pray, meditate, or share stories, and we assist in creating a safe, sacred space. This may last hours, days or more.

A home funeral is a family-led, community-supported way of caring for the body of a loved one at home after death. It allows time for rituals, goodbyes, and honoring the transition in a familiar, intimate setting—often including washing, dressing, vigil, and ceremony.

Caring for our own dead is also an ancient art that centers the family as the caregivers when someone has died. When funeral care is a family-centered event, death and grieving become part of normal life for all concerned, not something that you go to an institution to deal with. An individualized approach that minimizes modern technological funeral interventions such as embalming helps a family more fully embraces all aspects of the death and grieve in a deep, healing and visceral way. (NEDA)

Gentle, sacred support following death—honoring the body, guiding rituals, and holding space for loved ones to grieve and connect with the transition.

Earth-conscious body disposition is a way of returning to the earth with care and reverence. It honors the body as part of the natural cycle—choosing methods like green burial or human composting that allow us to give back to the soil, nourish the land, and leave a lighter footprint. It’s a final act of reciprocity with the earth that has held us all our lives.

Yes, we work alongside hospice teams to provide complementary care that focuses on comfort, dignity, and emotional support.

The National Home Funeral Alliance (NHFA) emphasizes the importance of home funerals for several key reasons rooted in empowerment, community, and healing:

Reclaiming Death as a Natural, Family-Centered Process
Home funerals return the care of the deceased to families and communities rather than outsourcing it solely to funeral professionals and institutions. This helps demystify death and makes it a visible, shared human experience.

Empowerment and Choice
By choosing a home funeral, families take active roles in caring for their loved one’s body and holding rituals that reflect their values and beliefs. This restores agency and can make the process more meaningful and personalized.

Healing and Grief Integration
Being present with the body at home and participating in care rituals can deepen connection, provide comfort, and facilitate healthier grieving. It helps family and friends feel less isolated in their loss.

Cost Savings and Accessibility
Home funerals often reduce or eliminate many costs associated with traditional funerals and embalming, making dignified end-of-life care accessible to more people regardless of financial means.

Environmental Considerations
Home funerals often align with natural burial practices, supporting more environmentally sustainable death care that reduces chemical use, transportation, and resource consumption.

Community Building
Home funerals foster community involvement and support networks, bringing people together around the experience of death, which strengthens social bonds.

In New York State, while families can be deeply involved in after-death care, state law requires that certain tasks be overseen by a licensed funeral director. This includes:

- Filing the death certificate within 72 hours of death

- Obtaining necessary permits for burial or cremation

- Supervising the transportation of the body

Yes. Members of our collective have accompanied individuals and families through VSED and are available to provide non-medical support before and throughout the process.

Our care may include helping individuals and families prepare for what to expect, coordinating caregivers and the larger circle of care, collaborating with hospice and medical providers, offering emotional and spiritual support, providing bedside presence and respite, and supporting vigil and after-death care.

VSED can ask a great deal of both the person choosing it and those accompanying them. Our role is to help create a supported circle around the process while honoring the individual's autonomy, wishes, and changing needs.

Yes. Woodstock Death Care supports individuals and families who are considering or choosing Medical Aid in Dying (MAID).

Our role is non-medical and may include preparation and planning, family and caregiver support, emotional and spiritual care, coordination with hospice and the prescribing medical team, bedside presence on the aid-in-dying day, vigil, and after-death care.

We believe people should be able to explore their end-of-life choices without judgment or pressure. We accompany the process while respecting that the decision remains with the individual and that all medical aspects of MAID are managed by the appropriate licensed providers.

As MAID becomes available in New York, we are continuing our education and building relationships with organizations and medical providers specializing in aid-in-dying care.