Diginity, at the water’s edge.
A place to learn, gather, grieve, and be cared for.
We are here when there is nowhere else to go
Heron House is a community home for learning, comfort, and care at the end of life. Families and neighbors come here to learn what most of us are never taught: how to care for someone who is dying, how to plan for our own end, and how to carry grief.
We offer classes, grief support, and training for neighbors who want to sit with the dying, including both volunteer preparation and a path into paid caregiving work. In time, a small home at the back will care for women who are dying with nowhere else to go.
“No one should face the end of life alone”
The morning my mother died in my home, I went to the window and saw a blue heron on the shore below, looking up at me. Then it flew. That is what we want for everyone in Richmond: to be held steady at the water’s edge, and then set free.
How We Help
Home hospice often burdens families already at their limit. Many feel unprepared to deal with caregiving. The Heron House hopes to meet this need.
Wealth inequality narrows end-of-life options, leaving many without reliable or affordable care. For people, especially women, critically ill, experiencing homelessness or without insurance, there are almost no options at all.
