Members & guests: free.

Online RSVP for this program has ended; to join, please contact the Village office at 773.248.8700.

This program will be presented via Zoom, and recorded. Register here to receive a link to join the event, as well as a recording of the informational part of the presentation afterwards. The Zoom link will be sent the day before the presentation.

Death doulas have come up in conversation at several recent Village events, so we are bringing one to speak with our members. Death doulas support people at end-of-life in a variety of ways. They help clients reduce fears, achieve goals, and embrace impermanence. What scares people about death? Suffering. Let’s discuss physical, emotional, and spiritual suffering and how doulas provide the comfort care needed to die well. In this presentation we will learn about the training of doulas as well as how they work with individuals and families at the end of life.

About our presenter: Catherine Durkin Robinson is a death doula and educator. She graduated from the University of Vermont’s End-of-Life Doula program and belongs to NEDA, the National End-of-Life Doula Alliance. Her varied career includes 30 years as a political organizer, 10 years as an educator at the high school and college level, and 10 years as a newspaper columnist in Tampa. She operates her own private practice, Anitya Doula Services, where she teaches death-positive workshops and supports people at end of life. Catherine was also a longtime hospice-trained volunteer and registered pre-need counselor in the state of Florida before relocating to Chicago (Lakeview East) in July 2022.