LET US HELP LIFT THE BURDEN 808-853-0621
Joy Rodriguez - End of Life Ally
Joy Rodriguez is a non-medical companion and ally during the final stage of life. She has been an Our Care Our Choice ally since the Hawaii State Law's inception in 2019, and prior to that was a Volunteer Client Advisor for End of Life Washington. Joy has walked beside clients as they prepared for their deaths and has been trusted to be an ally at the bedside of natural deaths, medical aid in dying ingestions, and VSED deaths.
Notable Engagements
• Burden Lifters Oahu 2020-Present – End of Life Transitional Ally and Advocate
• Medical Aid in Dying Monthly Bereavement Group Sponsored by A Sacred Passing –
2022-Present – Co-Facilitator
• The Completed Life Initiative - National Collective Representative 2024-Present
• Honolulu Compassionate Friends Regional Conference – March 2026 – Workshop Sponsor/Volunteer
• Seeing Death Clearly - March 2026 - Podcast Guest
• Star Advertiser Article, “Residents Can Meet Death On Own Terms” – January 2026 – Co-Writer
• Hawaii Public Health Institute Health Professionals Training “The Mental Health Components and
Team Approach in OCOCA” – November 2025 – Speaker
• Let Grace In – Hope Retreat Volunteer – 2024, 2025
• The Fine Art and Science of Pain and Palliative Care 2024 Convention -
Mits Aoki Scholarship Recipient/ Attendee
• "What is a Doula" Kokua Mau Monthly Education Series December 2024 - Speaker
• The Completed Life Initiative - 2024-Present – State Representative
• "End of Life Choices and Non-Medical Companions" - UH Manoa Masters in Social Work
Death and Dying Class Spring 2024 - Guest Lecturer
• National Clinicians Conference on Medical Aid in Dying – 2023 - Speaker
• "Their Care Their Choice" Webinar 2023 - Organizer and Speaker
• “Insights About Medical Assisted Death in Hawaii” Rhonda Hall, PhD Webinar – 2020 - Speaker
• End of Life Washington -2017-2019 - Volunteer Client Advisor, Spokane, WA
• Hospice of Spokane -2015-2017 – Vigil Volunteer
Education and Training
BA, English, UCDavis, 2000
Hospice of Spokane Volunteer Training, 2015
End of Life Doula Training, A Sacred Passing , 2016
Volunteer Client Advisor Training, End Of Life Washington, 2016
End of Life Educator Training, Final Passages, 2017
Reiki Level I, Lavina Hiathin, 2018
Reiki Level II, Lavina Hiathin, 2019
Doula Training, Academy of Aid in Dying Medicine, 2022
Advance Care Directive Training, Hawaii Pacific Heath, 2023
SibShop Facilitator Training, Let Grace In, 2024
Learning from Dr. Mitsuo Aoki Series, Mits Aoki Legacy Foundation, 2022, 2023, 2025
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Richard Hennessey, LCSW 2025
Thought Field Therapy Algorithms, Caroline Sakai, PhD 2026
Donate to Help Ease The Burden
At Burden Lifters, we believe that everyone deserves a good death. Our mission revolves around offering end-of-life services to those who seek them. In line with this mission, we do not impose a set fee for our services. Instead, we offer guidelines based on current rate scales and kindly request that clients contribute what they believe our services are warranted, without creating additional financial hardship.
If you would like to support our mission, or offset the cost of services for those in financial hardship, click the button below to make a donation.
