Community-Supported DeathCare

About Us

In the past, communities cared for their own at death, simply and naturally. Death was a part of life, and death care was shared by friends and neighbours. We are your friends and neighbours, knowledgeable, compassionate, experienced, and willing to lend our helping hands. Since 2019 we have been educating, empowering, and creating alternative end-of-life choices in our community.

Contact

Please reach out for help, even on short notice, to [email protected] or call Emma Tius (250) 208-4468 or Margaret Verschuur (250) 204-3709.

What We Offer

The DeathCare Collective strives to integrate death as part of life by …

Empowering, guiding, and supporting the practice and process of caring for our own dead and dying, in community.
Initiating conversations, providing education, and encouraging people to prepare for end-of-life.
Providing calm, steady guidance for those grappling with sudden and unexpected loss.
Incorporating holistic care from terminal diagnosis to burial or cremation for the death journeyer and their loved ones.
Navigating gaps between health care and death care in our remote location.
Working to make home deaths more accessible for those who prefer this.

Death as Sacred

We view death as a sacred transition that brings profound change. We honour this journey by empowering individuals and loved ones to explore options, participate actively, incorporate ritual and beauty wherever possible, and create space for grief and love to flow.

Donation Requests

When we can, we will support and empower every member of our community who seeks our assistance. For families with whom we’ve been significantly involved and who are financially able, we will reach out to request a donation. The government offers support through the CPP Death Benefit, which provides up to $2,500 toward funeral costs. Many families qualify for the full amount and may wish to contribute some or all of it to help sustain the ongoing work of the DeathCare Collective.