fin- our guidance your decisions

Aim

Founded by End of Life Doulas we aim to provide modern, empowered end of life planning through our online platform for you & your loved ones

Hello! 

Thank you for visiting our Crowdfunder page. The fin founders Katie Rose and Emma Clare are both trained End of Life Doulas and founding members of End of Life Doula UK, who we are delighted to be working with on this project. 

Together we are bringing years of experience of supporting people (and those they love) to our online platform, creating a unique digital doula experience. 

Our vision

Fin has been created in response to the recent global pandemic which has thrown a spotlight on the need for us to plan for end of life at any age.  This is so we can have more chance of having the death we choose – this might include where we die, how we want to be cared for, medical interventions we would refuse and our funeral arrangements.

Our vision is to modernise the way we deal with end of life planning and the relationship with our own mortality. Through the work that we do we see first hand the positive impact that advance planning can have on our lives but we also see that the current solutions can be overwhelming, impersonal, impractical and complicated.

We want to change this because End of Life planning is important and should be a simple and accessible experience and knowing it is done means we can get on and focus on living.

Why? The Facts

•    YouGov poll shows 82% of people have strong views about their end of life care but only 4% have an Advance Plan

•    65% of adults in the UK do not have a will

•    1 person every 3 minutes develops dementia (that’s 209,600 people a year)

•    In one UK study with an Advance Plan in place, 78% of people died in their preferred environment 

•    There is an estimated 11,000 people in the UK in a persistent vegetative state and 48,000 people in a minimal conscious state

•     Next of kin have no legal rights under UK law 

These stats are alarm bells. 

Many people think that the time to make plans for end of life care is in later life, or when you become critically ill. We have no way of knowing whether when the time comes we will be able to exercise control and communicate these decisions. Making these decisions while you are still healthy can give more control and peace of mind and is an important part of taking responsibility. Being clear means we are more likely to have our wishes respected and we also relieve those we love of the burden of having to make difficult decisions on our behalf.

fin

We envisage offering an empowering and demystifying experience in the form of a digital platform. Here you will be guided through the process of creating your Advance Plan. This might include documenting your wishes and preferences in an Advance Statement containing for example how you want to be cared for and where you want to die. We also want to offer you legally binding solutions including Advance Decisions to Refuse Treatment, guidance around Lasting Power of Attorney and a tailored Will writing service with our in-house doula solicitor. Combining our guidance and your decisions, catering for the individual at any age or any stage of life.

We believe that the key to empowering people in this area is to educate, debunk and normalise these conversations so that a positive ripple effect can happen in our communities. Because of this we plan to create educational content which is modern and engaging and offer workshops to equip others with the skills to feel more confident in talking about end of life planning and inspired to help their friends and family.

'Studies have found that being able to talk about your mortality makes you a happier person and improves your relationships'.

New York Times Article 16th July 2020 ‘Boom Time for Death Planning’ by Jennifer Miller

Read New York Times Article here

With your help we can create 'fin'

A central source of information for advance planning is well overdue. We want to provide this and to do this justice and make sure it can create the change that is so desperately needed, we need to raise some funds.

The funds would be paying for:

• Building and coding the website and app from scratch 
• Designing the website, app and creative content 
• Creating video content to provide simple, educational guidance 
• Spreading the word  by hosting workshops and attending community events to share the project and plant seeds to encourage positive change
• Our talented chosen website designer, a skilled coder (both of whom lost their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic) and our amazing content creator Hannah Lovell who made this film for us for free.

With your support we can pay for the build of our digital platform and begin to start changing the way End of Life Planning is tackled in the UK. 

We will be creating unique and brand new content designed by us which takes time and resources and we want to be able to give this the skill set it deserves. 

With your Help we could be launching fin in the Autumn, allowing us to start supporting our communities in the very near future.

Endings matter, we only die once. You deserve to have some control over how you finish your story, honouring the life that you lived.

If you want to find out more about some of the terminology used like 'End of Life Doula' and 'Advance Plan' please head over to our instagram page @fin.guide.decide

Quotes from industry peers

'We don't often get the chance to talk about what we really value in life - what's really important to us. When life is good and going well we don't give our attention to the "What if's".  We can't prepare for every unexpected event, but Fin can help you consider some of the very important questions that will give your family/friends reassurance, if you are ever involved in a medical or health emergency. It will also you peace of mind so you can get on with living.' 

Hermione Elliott- Director Living Well Dying Well

'An accessible solution so that people can make their Advance Plan for End of Life, simply, without feeling overwhelmed is much needed.  We love that there is, too, human contact so people can be guided through should they want that.' 

Aly Dickinson- Secretary End of Life Doula UK

'This simplified service for advance planning would be the perfect advancement in elderly care services ensuring effective end of life planning, regulatory compliance and staff support and training.' 

Lauri.Smith- Nursing Home Registered  Manager 

This project successfully funded on 25th August 2020