Everybody dies. We all know this; as death care professionals we face this reality every single day.
One of the challenges of death care work is the fact that even though everyone dies, not everyone has the resources to pay for good care at the end of their life, and unfortunately this happens to be especially true in the United States.
Emma Acker founded the All’s Well Initiative in New York as one strategy for addressing this problem. By working with patron clients with the resources to pay for bespoke services, the All’s Well Initiative is able to fund services for beneficiary clients who are in need but unable to pay. From the All’s Well Initiative website:
All’s Well Initiative believes relational connection is every person’s deepest need… right up to their last breath. From the bottom of New York City to the top, we are companions for those most in need of it – at the time they need it most. We also provide deeply discounted or free services to our marginalized neighbors who do not have family or housing. By inviting us to serve you, you are part of serving your neighbor also.
During our Summer Summit, we will be hearing from Emma herself about what propelled her to found the All’s Well Initiative and how it works. We are so excited to hear from her! A bit more about Emma:
Emma Acker is an End-of-Life Doula and artist. In 2021, she founded All’s Well Initiative to provide compassionate end-of-life care across the socioeconomic spectrum of NYC. She is proud to be part of the Artists’ Grief Deck project and a founding team member of Here to Honor, growing and supporting death literacy within communities.
The problems that led Emma to start the All’s Well Initiative will sound familiar to all of us. Her knowledge and experience are invaluable, and will hopefully give ideas for how we might tackle these kinds of issues as we build our own doula practices and work toward providing the best possible care to each and every one of our clients, no matter where they come from or what they can afford.
If you haven’t signed up for Summer Summit yet, there is still time! It is absolutely free and we are looking forward to seeing you all there!
