Our mission

Make end-of-life doula care easier to find and easier to reach.

Bear Witness exists to bridge the gap between end-of-life doulas and the people and families looking to hire them.

Care should not be hardest to find when a family is already overwhelmed.

End-of-life doulas offer practical, emotional, and non-medical support before, during, and after a death. Yet many families do not know this care exists until they urgently need it. Even then, finding someone nearby, understanding what they offer, and knowing whom to trust can take more energy than a family has left.

Bear Witness brings doulas and families into one clear, trusted place. We make it easier to understand the role, see who is available, and connect with a person whose approach fits the family.

What we are building

A clearer starting point

Plain language about what doulas do, what kind of support is available, and what a family can ask for.

A trusted way to choose

Personal screening, background checks, and profiles that help families understand the person behind the practice.

A more accessible connection

Local search and direct coordination that shorten the distance between needing help and speaking with someone who can offer it.

Jason and his dad standing together at the edge of the ocean
Losing his dad at 21 shaped Jason's understanding of what families carry before, during, and long after a death.
Jason with his grandmother

Jason with his grandmother.

About the founder

Jason Tifford

Jason is an INELDA-certified end-of-life doula and hospice volunteer. He was 21 when his dad died, and he watched his mom carry those last months mostly alone. That experience changed the direction of his life.

His master's dissertation explored how bereaved young adults find meaning and flourish after loss. Through that work, and through direct care for families, he came to understand how much support can exist outside the medical system and how difficult it can be to find.

He founded Bear Witness so the next family would not have to go looking in the dark. The goal is simple: help more people know this care exists, understand what it can offer, and reach a trusted doula when they need one.

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