Home Vigils and Cool Plates
Home Vigils
Life Rites can facilitate after-death care at home so family and friends can spend valuable time together in a familiar and comforting environment. To help you facilitate a successful vigil, we provide expert guidance and support.
Facilitate home care and/or bringing your loved one home to die.
Transport your person home from the place of their death.
Help you plan and support a home vigil, including body-care washing and anointing.
Provide a simple to use and portable cooling plate.
Offer an integrated model of holistic funeral care.
Oversee and support all involved in the vigil.
Attend to all legal paperwork and practicalities.
Organise pick up and transport once the vigil is complete.
When Rosie died, her family continued to care for her at home for 4 days, just as they had during her illness. She was celebrated with a home funeral and there couldn’t have been a more appropriate way for her family and friends to reflect on who Rosie was and remember her.
Rosie’s Vigil
Sal’s Vigil
Cool Plates
Cooling plates for funerals allow you and your family to take your time in the precious and often confusing days immediately following a death. They are available to you if you wish to conduct a vigil or keep your family member at home for a while after they have died, before you engage the services of a funeral director.
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Sydney's First Cool Plate
When Julie Goswell’s cancer returned in 2006, at the age of 38, Jules was determined her community would have the opportunity to travel with her as she met the challenges of living and dying. She wanted to know as much as possible about what would happen to her body as she died – and after. It was important to her and her partner that she stayed at home after she died, and we did this with dry ice and lots of hands-on care. Jules’s coffin was brought to the home and decorated and people came and spent time with her. It was a rich and bonding time for everyone involved. In an act of deep generosity, in keeping with Jules’s nature and politics, she left a bequest that meant Life Rites could purchase the first cool bed in the Sydney Metropolitan area. It has since supported many families to continue to care for their own at home. We love you, Jules x
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Slowing Down The Process
By slowing down the process between death and the funeral arrangements, you are able to catch your breath and begin the task of knowing what is best for you, your family and your community. The Australian Health Department Regulations allow the body of your family member or friend to be at home for up to 5 days for personal and cultural reasons. Most people only wish to extend their time by a few hours or overnight. To do so, the body needs to be supported by keeping the temperature between 1 and 5 degrees Celsius, and the surrounding area cool. If the death is unexpected, it may become a ‘reportable’ death, which means the body of your family member or friend may need to go to the coroner for the cause of death to be determined. Life Rites would then arrange to bring your person home for the vigil. A Life Rites’ practitioner will talk you through the set up and use of the cooling bed and how best to support all involved during this time. We can deliver the bed to your home, walk through the preparation of your family member with you, and be available to oversee the vigil as needed.
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Manaaki Mats (for Little Ones)
Manaaki means ‘to take care of’. Manaaki mats are a New Zealand based company who provide a specialised cooling resource to offer bereaved parents. Manaaki mats provide a safe, simple & effective way to keep the body cool. Using this resource slows down the natural changes that occur after death and most importantly allows the family more time before burial or cremation. This extra time ensures that families can create memories of holding and caring for their baby or child. Using the mats allows you choices as to where you would like to place your baby/child, either in your arms, bed, or cot.It is a more natural, environmentally friendly and affordable alternative to chemical embalming. The founders of Manaaki Mats are Annie Meredith & Claire Turnham.
Looking for another specific service?
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End-of-Life Doula Services
We give practical and emotional support to people living with a terminal illness. An end-of-life or death doula provides guidance through what is often a difficult and complex time for everyone involved.
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Guidance and Counselling
Whether it’s your own death or someone you love, navigating unfamiliar territory can be challenging and unsettling. We offer a range of services that provide sensitive guidance at all stages of the process.
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Funeral Services
We work with a wide-range of people and offer a wide-range of services to help you make the best and most appropriate choices for you and for all involved.