New Resources for Faith Communities, Hospices

and End of Life Care Coalitions

Questions about meaning, purpose, guilt, forgiveness, healing and hope are common among people who are struggling with illness and end-of-life care. Many people turn to their faith community or religious leaders for support.  Unfortunately, faith communities often are not fully equipped to offer the kind of support people need.

Hospice and palliative care providers also respond to spiritual needs at the end of life.  However, not all hospices are equipped to partner effectively with area faith communities.  By learning to work collaboratively with neighboring faith communities, hospices can increase support for patients and families.  Through these partnerships, hospice can also help faith communities offer support long before hospice is ever an option.  

To help meet the needs of faith communities and hospices, Project Compassion partnered with the Caring Connections Initiative of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and The Duke Institute on Care at the End of Life in 2008 to develop new resources and initiatives.

Through this partnership, the following resources are now available for faith communities and for hospices and end of life care coalitions.

Faith Community Resources

• The Unbroken Circle:  The Unbroken Circle is a new toolkit for faith communities around illness, end of life and grief.  Written by James L. Brooks, former Executive Director of Project Compassion, and published by the Duke Institute on Care at the End of Life, this toolkit provides today’s congregations with an inspiring and achievable vision for caring for people facing illness, end of life and grief.  Fom leadership development and education to congregational care and worship, this resource gives clergy and lay leaders a roadmap for weaving end of life care into the fabric of congregational life.  The toolkit includes guidance, tips, stories and examples help this toolkit live up to its name.  The Unbroken Circle will help faith communities of all traditions rediscover what it means to offer hope throughout these challenging seasons of life.  The Unbroken Circle is available by clicking here.
• Offering Spiritual Support for Family or Friends:  This consumer brochure, written by James L. Brooks and published by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, offers guidance for anyone who wants to offer spiritual support for someone living with illness or end of life.  Individuals may access the pdf free online at www.caringinfo.org/faith.  Faith communities and other organizations can order copies for distribution at NHPCO’s Marketplace.
• Workshops and Presentations:  Project Compassion has presented numerous workshops on how faith communities can create unbroken circles of care at NHPCO national conferences and in other national settings.  We are available to provide workshops and presentations for faith community leaders or congregations on topics such as providing spiritual care during illness and end of life, creating unbroken circles of care, and growing as spiritual leaders around illness, end of life and grief.  Click here to learn more.  

Resources for Hospices and End of Life Care Coalitions

Research affirms the hospice approach that recognizes faith as an important issue for people facing serious illness or impending death.

“Hospice has always placed importance on the spiritual needs of the patients and families they serve and spiritual care is an integral component of the hospice philosophy of care,” said J. Donald Schumacher, NHPCO president and CEO.

Here are resources designed specifically for hospices and end of life care coalitions:

• It’s About How You Live -- in Faith Outreach Guide:  To help equip hospice providers, palliative care providers and end of life care coalitions, “It’s About How You LIVE – In Faith,” materials are now available free of charge through Caring Connections.  Written by James L. Brooks for NHPCO, the Outreach Guide offers key strategies to help hospice and palliative care providers and coalitions with strategies for buildilng partnerships with area faith communties, examples of model programs and practical resources hospices and end of life care coalitions can use to develop faith community initiatives.  This guide helps hospices and coalitions reach out across traditional religious and cultural lines, building effective partnerships with diverse faith communities.  It's About How You Live -- In Faith Outreach Guide and other supporting materials may be downloaded free of charge at Caring Connection’s Web site, www.caringinfo.org/faith.
• Offering Spiritual Support for Family or Friends:  This consumer brochure, written by James L. Brooks and published by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, offers guidance for anyone who wants to offer spiritual support for someone living with illness or end of life.  Individuals may access the pdf free online at www.caringinfo.org/faith.  Hospices, end of life care coalitions and other organizations may order copies for distribution at NHPCO’s Marketplace.
• Workshops and Presentations:  Project Compassion has presented workshops on faith community engagement at NHPCO national conferences and in other national settings since 2008.  We are available for workshops and presentations for provider groups on topics such as spiritual care, faith community engagement and creating community partnerships.  Click here to learn more.  

Faith Community Engagement Partner Organizations 

• Project Compassion creates community and provides support for people living with serious illness, caregiving, end of life and grief.  Project Compassion helps people have the resources, support, and hope they need to live life to the fullest every day. www.project-compassion.org 
• Caring Connections, a program of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, is a national consumer and community engagement initiative to improve care at the end of life, supported by a grant from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Princeton, NJ. Caring Connections provides free resources and information that address end-of-life issues such as advance care planning, serious illness, caregiving, grief and more. www.caringinfo.org
• Duke Institute for Care at the End of Life is a catalyst for growth and transformation, a global resource to improve care for those at life’s end. The mission of the Institute is to create and promote the growth of knowledge and to encourage the application of that knowledge in caring for the whole person at life’s end. www.iceol.duke.edu