About PAUSE

The mission of PAUSE is to create spaces that produce safe, culturally-specific, and expert-informed grief and end of life resources serving Communities of Color. 

Regardless of our race, gender, religion, location, and privilege - dying is not an option. But how we access safe, culturally-sensitive support and care is.

No matter who you are, death and loss are universal and an inevitable part of life. However, the rise of social unrest and COVID-19 have highlighted a key part of dying that we haven’t acknowledged widely before now: there is inequity in the way we die.

Generalized grief resources are not centered, specific, or thoughtful enough to be useful for people in communities experiencing death due to racially-motivated violence or diseases prevalent in underserved communities.  This is a critical gap that must be addressed. The way People of Color experience grief after a death-related loss IS different. And what WE need to grieve safely and with dignity IS different.  

Launched the summer of 2020, in response to the murder of George Floyd, the initial PAUSE concept was in the form of a simple curated newsletter. PAUSE newsletter featured key grief and mental health resources (events, materials, content) created BY people of color FOR people of color.

Today, PAUSE has grown into a versatile organization, offering a blend of digital and in-person support to individuals, corporations, and deathcare professionals. PAUSE continues to partner with other organizations to foster a welcoming community for all.

“PAUSE provides support for Communities of Color as a tool for coping through the collective pain they share in the face of great societal change. And we actively, proudly amplify the work of passionate subject matter experts who create resources, offerings, and services that serve People of Color.”

- Alica Forneret, PAUSE Founder

PAUSE aims to activate systemic changes through online and in-person spaces that provide resources to:

  • Individuals who are grieving after a death-related loss (due to natural death, murder, suicide, systemic racism, healthcare negligence/medical racism, etc.)

  • Communities that are grieving a death-related loss (due to natural death, murder, suicide, systemic racism, healthcare negligence/medical racism, etc.)

  • Individuals, professionals, companies, and communities that act as support systems for People of Color(caregivers, employers, healthcare workers)

PAUSE envisions spaces that:

  • 1.

    Provides educational and community-driven resources (i.e. native written content, native video content, native audio content, original event content, original trainings, engagements, etc.)  about grief and end of life, all created by and for People of Color. 

  • 2.

    Engages companies and their leadership with educational and supportive resources (i.e. custom workshops, custom written content, policy audits, etc.) built to support employees who are People of Color.

  • 3.

    Engages end-of-life professionals, leaders, and related industries in the advocacy of health equity and equity in death for People of Color (i.e. connects grief, mental health, end of life service providers, and deathcare professionals (doulas, hospices, and spiritual leaders) to People of Color seeking these services).

  • 4.

    Diversifies existing grief and end of life resources and materials available to healthcare providers, corporate businesses, etc.

  • 5.

    Explore systems for diversifying where financial resources go for POC end of life leaders and businesses.