Imani’s Light.
Supporting Perinatal & Pediatric Families Through Love and Loss.
At Imani’s Light, we center the care of BIPOC perinatal & pediatric families as they navigate the complex intersections of grief, trauma, systemic racism, and oppression as they navigate end-of-life care.
Our work sits at the intersection of bereavement, end-of-life care, and cultural remembrance, offering space for families to be seen, supported, and honored during some of life’s most difficult moments.
We recognize that traditional end-of-life Doula care for BIPOC families often misses the systemic injustice, biases, and erasure that can occur even at the end of a child’s life. This harm does not occur in isolation. It is shaped by medical racism, historical trauma, and the repeated marginalization of Black and Brown people. Too often, there is no space for healing between losses because of systemic racism, “expected resiliency”, the marginalized deaths of black/brown babies & birthing people, and repeated violence inflicted on Black Women, Queer & Trans Femme bodies. To add insult to injury, the disparities in “traditional” grief & trauma care erase the traditions and stories that BIPOC people carry with them as a vessel for healing.
Imani’s Light was created in response to these gaps.
Our Guiding Principles
Mission
The mission of Imani’s Light is to provide community-based bereavement care for all families navigating perinatal and pediatric loss, while centering the voices, needs, and experiences of BIPOC communities.
Vision
We envision a community where every family facing perinatal or pediatric loss is surrounded by compassionate support, practical guidance, culturally responsive care & support before, during, and after loss.
We envision a care ecosystem where families are held, heard, and honored with dignity instead of silence.
Where doulas, providers, birthworkers, peer supporters, and community members are fully equipped to widen each family’s cocoon of care.
Purpose
Our purpose is to provide individualized care for families facing perinatal loss, pediatric death, terminal diagnosis, and grief so they do not move through these experiences alone.
We provide culturally responsive care that honors each baby, child, family, and their stories. Our purpose is to meet families in the tender and overwhelming moments with practical guidance and connections to a wider cocoon of support.
Why BIPOC-centered care?
Imani’s Light serves all families while also ensuring that we serve as a space to cultivate healing & restoration for BIPOC families in the midst of grief.
We recognize that while grief and trauma have been studied extensively, only 1 in 3 Black adults who need care receive it, and birthing Black women & Femmes are often missing from that conversation. The effects of systemic racism, police brutality, medical racism, and historical trauma are not being addressed, and instead, Black women & Femmes are being pathologized as having “prolonged grief”, written off as being “angry”, or ignored altogether causing further harm. We are dedicated destigmatizing and reducing the barriers to dedicated grief & trauma care, while facilitating necessary dialogue within the Black community on intergenerational trauma & loss.
Historically, the care for Black Women and Femmes has been directive and authoritarian without input from the clients themselves, leaving them with dire disparities. At Imani’s Light, we honor the historical strength and inherent value of Black Women and Femmes and know that their wisdom is a vast knowledge source for community healing and liberation.
At Imani’s Light we acknowlegde and honor the experiences of Black women and femmes who are Queer, Trans, Disabled, Single, Married, Polyamorous, Religious, Atheist, Teens, and everything in between.