Home Funeral Practicum
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Hey, what's it all about?

Picture
 Sampling of HFP's Practical & Holistic Education

LEGAL EDUCATION 

  • ​You'll understand your legal rights to reclaim family and community-led deathcare in your province.
  • You'll grasp legal-financial boundaries when helping someone other than family or friends as a home funeral guide.  (Only a licensed funeral director or embalmer can receive renumeration for providing body care in Canada.  If this boundary is crossed we risk what funeral industry lobbyists have accomplished in 2 provinces and 10 states: the outlawing of the public's legal right to transport a deceased/act in lieu of a commercial funeral director).

LOGISTICAL EDUCATION

  • You'll understand logistical procedures for obtaining, completing and filing required documentation including a transport permit and burial/cremation permit in each province.   
  • You'll understand how to successfully interact with institutional administrators, registrars, funeral directors and medical examiners to maintain control (whenever possible) for a highly rewarding home funeral experience.  

PRACTICAL EDUCATION & TRAINING 
​
  • ​You'll receive mock training in moving and lifting a deceased (as funeral directors & transfer services do) including use of a body board for navigating steps, hallways and doors inside and outside a home.  
  • You'll receive training in respectful undraping/draping/cleansing a mock deceased.  Also 'trade' techniques for dressing, casketing, cosmetic application, and securing a casket in a vehicle in accordance with provincial regulations. 
  • You'll obtain important knowledge re transmittable diseases; universal health precautions including safe disposal of bio-hazardous waste.
  • You'll be encouraged to forge positive relationships with local funeral directors, transfer service folks, vital statistics registrars, and medical examiners or coroners.

DEATH PLANNING
​
  • You'll have the opportunity to think through, clarify and make a plan for your own end-of-life rituals and rites.

HOLISTIC  EDUCATION

BODY:
  • As laypersons you'll realize the importance of maintaining safety and diginity in body handling and taking universal health precautions.
  • You'll gain experience in sensitive handling and gentle cleansing a live model's (bathing suit covered) body. 
  • You'll be guided in the ancient Jewish purification ritual 'tahara' used as a teaching template one that has provided great comfort to family and friends, dignity and honour to a deceased for three thousand years.  
​
MIND & EMOTIONS:

 
  • You'll practice 'self-care' exercises for centering and remaining present. Eg: Breath work, stretching, mindfulness exercise, etc. 
  • Learn through Don's well of experience ways to face and to overcome fears of being present to, touching, cleansing, and caring for a deceased at home or elsewhere.   
  • Discuss and practice the custom of reading sacred texts to a mock deceased. (optional)  ​           ​
​
HEART-SPIRIT-SOUL:


  • ​Practice devotional singing while 'preparing' a model. 
  • Discuss the possibility of ongoing connections to late loved ones/ancestors. (optional).  
  • Take part in discussions and demonstrations re respecting 'sacred boundaries’ when labouring in the presence of a newly deceased.  These teachings arise from ancient Jewish funeral customs. (optional).​

​ENVIRONMENT:

Don speaks from his pioneering work as former Canadian Outreach Director for the North American
Green Burial Council on topics such as:
  • How to reduce one's carbon footprint in burial or cremation. 
  • The three categories of green burial fashioned by the Green Burial Council. 
  • How to create a private family, or public, green burial cemetery.​ 
​                                                                              
PERSONAL STATEMENT

The Home Funeral Practicum does not provide professional death care training.  It does not prepare you for a paying job. It is an educational workshop for those wanting ​to experience the sovereignty, empowerment and healing that comes from reclaiming family and community-led deathcare by oneself, with a community, and/or with a funeral director or transfer service personnel.  If you are and end-of-life doula, the post death care skills you'll begin to hone 'ideally' are not to be performed for a 
family.   You are there to educate and guide them in their own sacred work caring for a loved one assisting when needed.   If a deceased's physical/hygienic situation moves beyond your legal and or practical management limits it is imperative to call a funeral director for immediate assistance. 

The Practicum is
funeral director friendly. ​ It extends appreciation to funeral directors who strive 24/7 to protect our public health and support our wellbeing.  It honours exceptional directors who understand their role is to not upsell yet simply ask what a grieving person/family/community needs... and deliver it.  I know without their formal education, training/apprenticeships, licensing requirements and around the clock availability we would not be as secure as we are here in Canada. 

Please know I am available for staging hosted 1-3 day Home Funeral Practicums across Canada.  I am also open to requests to teach in the United States. 

Thank you for visiting this site!  I hope we'll meet some day.

Cheers, 
Don Morris


ps: a must read book:  Lucinda Herrings,  Reimagining Death
pps: an academic's investigation into home funeral vigils see:  Alexa Hagherty's pdf.​  


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© HFP 2019

  • About
  • Don Morris, M.Ed
  • Content
  • Practicums
  • Photos
  • Contact
  • Benefits of a Home Funeral/Vigil
  • Resources
    • Ecologically 'Sound Works'
    • Media Articles
  • Admired Products & Projects
  • books to read