NODA Canterbury

21/04/2026

If you know of somebody who would like to have NODA involved in their care, please send an email to [email protected].

Please provide the referrer’s contact details, including phone number, as well as the person’s location, general circumstances and any other appropriate contact details.

The NODA team will contact the referrer within 24 hours. Our service can be provided in an aged residential facility, hospital or hospice setting. At this time we cannot provide a 24hr service or provide the service in a private residence.

24/03/2026

Presence
A poem by Gabby Jimenez

Presence doesn’t make a grand entrance.
It doesn’t need the spotlight.
It doesn’t always come with answers or certainty.

But presence stays.
It listens.
It breathes alongside you in the silence.
It says, “I don’t know what to say, but I’m not going anywhere.”

The truth is, we don’t remember every word someone said when we were struggling,
but we always remember who was there.
Who sat beside us.
Who made space for our feelings.
Who didn’t try to fix us or rush us through it.

That is the gift of presence.
It is not loud, but it echoes.
It is not everything, but it means everything.

True presence has boundaries.
It’s rooted. Steady. Clear.
It says, “I’m here with you, not instead of you.”

You can hold space without losing yourself in someone else’s storm.
You can show up without having all the answers.
You can offer compassion without taking it all on.

Real presence honors both people in the moment: the one who’s struggling, and the one who’s showing up.

xo
Gabby

You can find this poem here:
https://www.thehospiceheart.net/post/presence

03/03/2026

https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehospiceheart.net%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBExemp3ZzZrMTVWR0RBUHpjRnNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR4cpnVeApbdqQLeRqWt1myy0hdhFTKM9ql_zIkFwMTmxdGgasNU6GN9990Zvw_aem_Px34zKs4KCqN5dJ61nVTbA&h=AT5I8Hpu2Kx6Hvyk_nebCYP7QWmkczRBgviCL5HV1hwsAoWV4LWkQbMGqMVAY9glvM1T_FEeS90ElKffr7X2RLI5yM01cfWeQq4sruiEqINdivIjalpoLshMYL44KNbxHd1K

When someone is declining, whether from age or illness, the world gets louder while their voice gets softer. Decisions are made. Plans are formed. Opinions fill the room. And the person in the bed often learns quickly to just nod in agreement with what everyone else is saying… to what everyone else is deciding… on their behalf.

We need to change that!

Autonomy does not disappear because a body weakens. A voice does not lose value because it trembles. A life does not become public property because it is nearing its end.

It is not our place to tell someone how to feel, how to choose, how to grieve, how to love, or how to die.

Our role, if we are brave enough, is to pause long enough to ask:
How do you feel about this?
What do you need?
How do you want to meet this?
How can we support you?

Meeting someone where they are is not passive, it is sacred. It requires us to set down our biases, our urgency, our judgment, and our need to be right.

Especially when someone is dying, the least we can do, the very least, is let them be heard. This is their choice. Our role is to listen.

xo
Gabby
www.thehospiceheart.net

03/03/2026

The role of a NODA Volunteer

15/02/2026

Why does presence matter at the end of life?

13/02/2026

What is NODA Canterbury?

29/11/2025

NODA Goals are to provide:
• a compassionate, caring and respectful presence for people who may face dying alone
• relief and respite for whanau/ family or care staff concerned about a person who may be alone when they die.

25/10/2025

The November 2025 Death Cafe Christchurch event is being held at the Civil & Naval Cafe in Lyttelton, 16 London Street Lyttelton.

Register to attenda at this link: https://www.meetup.com/christchurchdeathcafe/events/311701641/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=braze_canvas&utm_campaign=mmrk_alleng_event_announcement_prod_unfiltered_v7_en&utm_term=promo&utm_content=lp_meetup&dispatch_id=68fca0a7d16e4355053671b17d99eec6

Aim to be there by 10:25am so you can order a drink and get settled.

Hello death-talkers Welcome to the November Death Cafe - our last one for 2025 Join us for a spacious conversation at Civil & Naval Cafe in Lyttelton. Management has agre

04/10/2025

https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2019002658/the-doulas-helping-people-treat-death-as-a-journey

It's a subject that many find uncomfortable, but is a necessity - how to handle the end of life. Kathryn is Treza Gallogly, she's the chair of the End of Life Doula Alliance Aotearoa.

19/09/2025