When People Step Closer to Suffering
This reflection is part of an ongoing series about how The Comfort Project came to be and what we've learned while supporting people pursuing Medical Aid in Dying in Vermont.
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My own introduction to Medical Aid in Dying came through a friend from my community and women's group. She was a caregiver of the dying herself and had seen the end of life up close.
As she approached her planned death using Medical Aid in Dying, friends and community members gathered around her. We were there not only for her final breath, but long afterward.
Quiet conversations.
Countless candles.
Tears.
Familiar voices.
Group hugs.
There was grief, of course.
But there was also something else.
Something about the way the community showed up for her.
To help process the experience, I wrote an article for our local newspaper entitled We Showed Each Other the Way to Die. The editor personally wrote to tell me how deeply it had touched him.
At the same time, I felt an inner advocate for Medical Aid in Dying waking up inside me.
When another friend took notice of my interest and passion, she introduced me to Suzanne and Patty, the co-founders of The Comfort Project.
Another small act of kindness.
Soon, I joined The Comfort Project with a desire to strengthen the foundation that Suzanne and Patty had begun. I saw an opportunity to help make our work sustainable for the long term and accessible to people across a wide range of financial circumstances.
As it turns out, I wasn't the only one who felt called into the work.
Around that same time, Suzanne was giving a presentation about Medical Aid in Dying at a local hospice organization. She spoke about one challenge they faced again and again: finding comfortable places for people to safely take their leave.
Then something extraordinary happened.
A hospice volunteer named Daniel introduced himself after the presentation and offered to help.
Soon afterward, gathered at Suzanne's home perched above the Connecticut River, Daniel made an offer that still feels almost unbelievable.
He offered to purchase a home where people pursuing Medical Aid in Dying could stay. It would be convenient, accessible, and, of course, comfortable.
His desire to ease suffering opened a door none of us had imagined.
Looking back, what strikes me is how often people have responded to suffering not by turning away, but by stepping closer.
And how generosity begets generosity.
Perhaps you've experienced something similar in your own life: a call to step closer to those who are suffering, or an act of kindness that changed the direction of things.
Again and again, the story of The Comfort Project returns to this simple truth:
People make room for one another.
And when they do, something larger becomes possible.
Leslie Zucker
Executive Director
The Comfort Project
P.S. Comfort Notes are written for people who value compassion, curiosity, and honest conversations. If you'd like to receive future reflections, we'd love to stay connected.
