In this webinar, green burial advocate Elizabeth Fournier will talk about backyard burial in the United States. A backyard burial includes burying a person on residential property, or land that is privately owned. Most bodies are buried in established, endorsed cemeteries, but burial on private property may be possible. Laws vary not only state to state but county to county in the US; it’s most accepted and typical in rural settings.
If you are considering a backyard burial, think carefully about what it may mean for the property itself and the person who owns it (which may be yourself). All other issues aside, burying someone on private land impacts the future sale of that property. In addition, however remote the concern may be, you should consider how you’d feel, and what you would do, if your deceased loved one resided on property that you no longer owned.
Elizabeth Fournier began her career in 1990 in Portland, OR, where she was employed as the live-in night keeper, sleeping in a trailer in a Portland cemetery. Thirty-three years later, she is a one-woman funeral service in the rural town of Boring, Oregon. Elizabeth owns and operates Cornerstone Funeral Services where she is affectionately known as “The Green Reaper” for her green burial advocacy. She is also the Manager of Historic Columbian Cemetery, Portland's newest green burial choice, and author of The Green Burial Guidebook: Everything You Need to Plan an Affordable, Environmentally Friendly Burial. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Global Green Burial Alliance, gave a TEDx talk called, "Going Green: The Last Act of Environmental Volunteerism," and People Magazine honored her work by writing, “Elizabeth Fournier is doing her part to change the way Americans bury their dead.”
Register to attend this event live on Wednesday, September 27 at 5pm PT | 8pm ET, or to receive a link to the recording (which is typically made available within one week of the event).
Good Dying: An African American Perspective with William Dixon Monday, August 14 at 8pm ET | 5pm PT
In this webinar, palliative care chaplain William Dixon will draw on thirty years of healthcare experience and his doctoral research to explore the concept of good dying from an African American perspective. William will discuss how anti-black systemic racism and African American religious cultures impact individual views of death/dying, and offer thoughts on how to support African American patients at end-of-life.
William Dixon is currently a Palliative Care Chaplain at Inova Fairfax Hospital in the Washington, DC metro area. He is co-author of the chapter on Cultural Humility in the Oxford Medicine Textbook of Palliative Care Communication (2015). William earned his Doctor of Ministry in Pastoral Care from United Theological Seminary in 2008 and is now pursuing a Master of Legal Studies with emphasis in bioethics. He is a Board Certified Chaplain who brings over thirty years of experience in healthcare and ministry, with a speciality in palliative care chaplaincy.
Register to immediately receive a download of the recording from this 90-minute event for a sliding scale donation (starting at $10).
Protecting Identity in Death with Jordan Rose A Guide for Queer/Trans/Non-Binary+ Folx and those who care for them July 2023 Webinar
In this webinar, we will look at the ways the legal system, healthcare, and culture intersect when caring for LGBTQIA2S+ individuals. We will cover basic definitions, next of kin structure, who gets a say in your services, and take a look at some cases of trans and non-binary decedents. We will also talk about ways to be a good ally and create a welcoming and inclusive environment in your death practices.
Jordan L. Rose (she/her) is a licensed funeral director and embalmer and end-of-life doula living in Chicago, IL. She is on a mission to put the rights of individuals at the end of their lives back into their hands. She is vocal about creating inclusive death practices that hold up marginalized voices. When she's not talking about death and dying, she's playing Dungeons and Dragons or redecorating her apartment...again. She can be reached by email.
Register to immediately receive a download of the recording from this 90-minute event for a sliding scale donation (starting at $10).
Grief & People with Disabilities with Marc Markell June 2023 Webinar
This presentation focuses on the experiences of people with disabilities as they grieve. Many people with disabilities experience disenfranchised grief, which means they do not receive the same level of support as people without disabilities. Although grief is highly individual, some people with disabilities who are grieving may have needs unique to this population. This presentation will cover person-centered and identity-first approaches to engaging people with disabilities; how people with disabilities may experience cyclical grief in regards to their experience of disability; and tips for companioning disabled people on their grief journeys.
Marc Markell is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Special Education at St. Cloud State University. Marc offers his perspective as a member of the disabled community with many years of experience working with disabled folks and grief. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota and Educational Psychology. He is a certified Professional Development Specialist through the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning. He is a certified Thanatologist through the Association of Death Educators and Counseling, and certified in Death and Grief Studies from Colorado State University through the Center for Loss and Life Transition.
Register to immediately receive a download of the recording from this 90-minute event for a sliding scale donation (starting at $10).
Infant & Child Deathcare with Toula Saratsis May 2023 Webinar
Toula is a Certified End-of-Life Doula that specializes in perinatal and pediatric palliative care, end-of-life, and after death care support. She was called to this work in 2016 after her daughter Angelica’s anticipated passing from a life limiting condition at nearly seven years old. Her work and service to others is rooted in advocacy that parallels activism through Community Death Care Education.
The collective goal of Infant and Child Deathcare advocacy is to raise awareness of connection, understanding, and options for children and their circles of care. Taking into consideration the unique needs of this population means normalizing and validating experiences that others may have difficulty connecting with. This presentation will introduce Infant & Child Deathcare Advocacy, community connections, and family stories.
Register to immediately receive a download of the recording from this 90-minute event for a sliding scale donation (starting at $10).
NHFA Community Conversation on Unpausing Free video from our May 2023 Event
The NHFA Is officially unpaused! Watch our Community Conversation on Unpausing, which took place Friday, May 12th, 2023. In this conversation, we reflect on what we've done during the pause and discuss where we plan to go from here.
Background: In the summer of 2021, the NHFA board decided that we needed to hit pause in order to break down over a decade's worth of an institutional vision that had not interrogated the “isms” inherent in our organization: notably racism, anti-trans bias, classism, and ableism. Since hitting pause, we've dedicated our time to reviewing, revising, and continuing to learn -- making sure that that everything the NHFA offers aligns with our belief that community-led deathcare is truly for everyone, without exception.