(Michelle Witte has a deep personal connection to the cause of Final Exit Network (FEN). In 2022, she cared for her mother through the painful final stages of Parkinson’s disease—an experience that profoundly shaped her understanding of the need for compassionate end-of-life options. As executive director of FEN, Witte’s background brings both lived experience and a distinguished career in nonprofit leadership, aging and healthcare, civic engagement, and resource development.)
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Doctor. Black Belt Master. EMS Worker. Realtor. End-of-Life Doula. Professor. Nurse. Veteran. Engineer. Author. Funeral Professional. Social Worker. Retiree.
These were just some of the backgrounds represented among the 20 people who recently gathered in Chicago for training to become volunteers with Final Exit Network (FEN). It was an extraordinary group — diverse in age, profession, and life experience — but united by one shared calling: helping people learn about and access their end-of-life choices.
As FEN’s new executive director, I joined the training myself. I wanted to better understand our programs, but more importantly, I wanted to understand our volunteers.
Who are the people who choose to step into this work? Who are the individuals willing to travel across the country educating people about end-of-life options? Who are the people prepared to navigate the challenges that come with volunteering in the right-to-die movement? Who feels called to serve people who are searching, suffering, and hoping to find a peaceful way forward?
The answer, I discovered, is remarkable.
These volunteers are thoughtful, courageous, compassionate people who have witnessed something many of us eventually encounter — the injustice of a “bad death.” Nearly everyone in the room carried a story.
They had watched loved ones endure prolonged suffering. They had experienced the frustration of the limitations surrounding Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) in the United States. They had seen firsthand the fear that so many people face when confronting devastating diagnoses or life circumstances that make the end of life look long, painful, and uncertain.
They came to FEN because they believe people deserve better. They came eager to learn about the role FEN plays in helping fill the gaps that still exist in our healthcare and legal systems. And they came ready to serve — to make a real difference in the lives of people navigating one of life’s most difficult chapters.
But while these volunteers will undoubtedly change many lives, something else happens in the process. The experience changes them. “I’ve found my tribe,” is something we hear often from FEN volunteers.
(l) Lowrey Brown, FEN Exit Guide Program Director
(r) Michelle Witte, FEN Executive Director
There is something powerful about working alongside others who are willing to engage openly with life’s final chapter — people who believe compassion, dignity, and autonomy should extend all the way to the end of life.
The philosopher Simone de Beauvoir once wrote:
“The goal of life is not to be happy, but to matter… to have it make some difference that you have lived.”
FEN volunteers live that idea.
Those who work in the sacred space of dying are truly special people. They help create a compassionate community around something our culture often avoids talking about — death.
And in doing so, they help transform it. When death is chosen thoughtfully and supported with compassion, it looks very different from suicide. Suicide is often impulsive, secretive, isolating, and traumatic for those left behind.
But when people facing unbearable suffering are able to plan their end of life, share their wishes with loved ones, and say goodbye surrounded by care and presence, the experience can be peaceful, meaningful, and deeply human.
Helping someone fulfill their final wishes in this way is an extraordinary gift. For the individual. For their loved ones. And for the volunteers who stand beside them.
I am deeply grateful for the remarkable volunteers of Final Exit Network. Their courage, compassion, and commitment make our mission possible.
Volunteering with FEN supports choice in dying. But it also offers something just as meaningful — a profound way of choosing how to live.
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Final Exit Network (FEN) is a network of dedicated professionals and caring, trained volunteers who support mentally competent adults as they navigate their end-of-life journey. Established in 2004, FEN seeks to educate qualified individuals in practical, peaceful ways to end their lives, offer a compassionate bedside presence and defend a person’s right to choose. For more information, go to www.finalexitnetwork.org.
Payments and donations are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law. Final Exit Network is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
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