BRATTLEBORO — Brattleboro Area Hospice recently was awarded a $1,000 grant from the Crosby-Gannett Fund at the Vermont Community Foundation. The grant will support Taking Steps Brattleboro, a community-based initiative intended to achieve a significant increase in the numbers of people in the Brattleboro area who have completed the advance care planning process.
Taking Steps Brattleboro reaches into the community through partnerships, community outreach and education to encourage and support all to complete and register advance directive documents in the interest of better end of life care and support.
Many know about the need to complete one's advance directives, but it is often put off. If a serious illness or accident leaves one unable to communicate, an advance directive becomes their voice. It tells loved ones and health-care providers what that person would want. An advance directive also prevents people from the heart-rending burden of having to second-guess their loved one's wishes.
In addition to community outreach and education, Taking Steps Brattleboro trains volunteers to support and guide people through the process of advance care planning. This is a free service to all members of the community.