We are the Communities Restoring Dignity to Natural Dying

By Miles Gloetzner

We had the short and sweet opportunity to care for an elder from Nigeria who came to the US with his wife and 7 children in 2020. (Can you imagine seeking refuge in a country where you didn't know the language...during COVID?) But from the very start, in true New Mexican style, community members came around them from just about day 1.

His wife died within a couple years of moving here and his own health slowly declined (he was in his 80s). His children (the oldest in mid-20s, youngest is 8) were no longer able to manage his care needs and their own. It's truly difficult to even imagine all of this.

Inhora became the safe, free of charge home-away-from-home for him and his family. We joined their community so that they didn't have to face the end of life alone. When he died around 2am, there was peace and there was love and there was family - family beyond blood relations. Over 15 people gathered at his bedside in the middle of the night - connected, cared for, grateful. Which was a totally different story from what it was about to be.

Hospice homes are a missing piece to the end-of-life care circle in too many communities. I think that everyone should be within an hour - at most 2 hours - from such a home. The Omega Home Network is uniting neighbors across the US to open more such homes.

My vision is that neighbors would be empowered to open such volunteer-hearted, non-medical homes to ensure that those living their dying are honored and loved ones are supported and lifted.

In the past it was tribes and family members caring for their dying, but now it's neighbors and local benefactors. The world has changed and we shouldn't try to go to the past, but we can envision something new in our current situation.

Photo from a Nigerian refugee camp (from VOA 2017 article).