© 2024 Lett's MavenHaven
About Us
"Carve your name on hearts, not tombstones. A legacy is etched into the minds of others and the stories they share about you." -- Shannon L. Alder
We live in a time of overlapping losses—of people, stability, and certainty. When systems feel strained, grief is often rushed, privatized, or shouldered alone. MavenHaven is a small, intentional response. This is a space to slow down, be genuinely witnessed, and make meaning in the midst of change. The care here is relational, consent-based, and flexible enough to hold chosen family, cultural difference, and grief that doesn't follow a script. You won't find fixes or timelines here. Instead, you'll find companionship—through end-of-life support, grief work, and creative legacy projects. It’s about marking life with honesty and care, even as the ground continues to shift.
The Why Behind the Work:
MavenHaven offers queer-affirming, anti-racist, and trauma-aware death and grief care rooted in dignity, creativity, and community.
The work centers Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color—especially those whose grief, identities, and end-of-life experiences are too often marginalized, medicalized, or ignored. Through death doula support, grief companionship, and creative legacy work, MavenHaven supports people in navigating loss, dying, and remembrance in ways that honor autonomy, culture, and chosen family.
While QTBIPOC communities are the first priority, MavenHaven holds care for all people and their grief. This work is grounded in the belief that grief is not something to be fixed, rushed, or privatized—it is something to be witnessed, held, and shared. Care here is consent-based, justice-oriented, and committed to honoring who people are, how they love, and how they live and die.
The work centers Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color—especially those whose grief, identities, and end-of-life experiences are too often marginalized, medicalized, or ignored. Through death doula support, grief companionship, and creative legacy work, MavenHaven supports people in navigating loss, dying, and remembrance in ways that honor autonomy, culture, and chosen family.
While QTBIPOC communities are the first priority, MavenHaven holds care for all people and their grief. This work is grounded in the belief that grief is not something to be fixed, rushed, or privatized—it is something to be witnessed, held, and shared. Care here is consent-based, justice-oriented, and committed to honoring who people are, how they love, and how they live and die.
MavenHaven's Mission
Offered Services
Creative Legacy & Memorial Art
Art can hold what words cannot, especially in grief.
This includes the creation of custom memorial pieces, legacy projects, and collaborative art to honor a life, a relationship, or a transition. Work can be for the living or in preparation for death, with individuals, families, or chosen family.
The focus is meaning—not perfection. This is about making space for emotion through creative practice.
Good for: Honoring a loved one, marking an anniversary, preparing a legacy gift, creating personal ritual.
Grief Companionship & Support
Grief doesn’t follow a timeline, and it doesn’t need to be fixed.
This work provides non-clinical, non-pathologizing support for navigating loss, anticipatory grief, or major life transitions. It centers listening, reflection, and gentle guidance—free from expectations of “progress.” Sessions may include conversation, grounding practices, creative reflection, or simple shared presence.
Good for: Recent or long-held grief, disenfranchised grief, or when therapy feels like too much—or not quite the right fit.
Death Doula & End-of-Life Care
Support for living fully, right to the end.
This work offers practical, emotional, and spiritual support before, during, and after death. It can include end-of-life planning, advocacy, vigil presence, ritual creation, and chosen family care—all tailored to personal values and identity. The goal is not control, but compassionate presence: helping individuals and their communities feel supported, informed, and less alone.
Good for: Serious illness, aging, advance planning, vigil support, and family accompaniment.
For Organizations & Communities
Bringing a grounded, grief-informed approach to your space.
MavenHaven partners with organizations, collectives, and community groups to facilitate:
Each collaboration is tailored to the community’s needs and values, whether it’s a single session or an ongoing program.
Art can hold what words cannot, especially in grief.
This includes the creation of custom memorial pieces, legacy projects, and collaborative art to honor a life, a relationship, or a transition. Work can be for the living or in preparation for death, with individuals, families, or chosen family.
The focus is meaning—not perfection. This is about making space for emotion through creative practice.
Good for: Honoring a loved one, marking an anniversary, preparing a legacy gift, creating personal ritual.
Grief Companionship & Support
Grief doesn’t follow a timeline, and it doesn’t need to be fixed.
This work provides non-clinical, non-pathologizing support for navigating loss, anticipatory grief, or major life transitions. It centers listening, reflection, and gentle guidance—free from expectations of “progress.” Sessions may include conversation, grounding practices, creative reflection, or simple shared presence.
Good for: Recent or long-held grief, disenfranchised grief, or when therapy feels like too much—or not quite the right fit.
Death Doula & End-of-Life Care
Support for living fully, right to the end.
This work offers practical, emotional, and spiritual support before, during, and after death. It can include end-of-life planning, advocacy, vigil presence, ritual creation, and chosen family care—all tailored to personal values and identity. The goal is not control, but compassionate presence: helping individuals and their communities feel supported, informed, and less alone.
Good for: Serious illness, aging, advance planning, vigil support, and family accompaniment.
For Organizations & Communities
Bringing a grounded, grief-informed approach to your space.
MavenHaven partners with organizations, collectives, and community groups to facilitate:
- Grief support groups & workshops
- Legacy or memorial art circles
- End-of-life education and discussion spaces
- Custom, single-session or ongoing programming
Each collaboration is tailored to the community’s needs and values, whether it’s a single session or an ongoing program.
About Me
Training, Credentials & Scope of Care
Hey y’all—I’m Christina (Chris) (all pronouns), an artist, a death doula, and a human trying to live with intention, care, and curiosity.
Art has always been how I make sense of the world. As a visual learner and self-taught artist, creativity has helped me hold emotion, memory, and meaning when words fall short.
My path into death work grew over time—through studying psychology and counseling, working closely with elders, and living through my own losses. As a queer, nonbinary, neurodivergent Black person, I know what it’s like to navigate systems that weren’t built with you in mind.
All of this shapes how I show up: with an emphasis on presence, accessibility, and care that honors full identities and chosen families.
Whoever you are, and however you arrive, you don’t have to carry it alone here.
It would be an honor to witness you—to help make space for what matters, and to ensure you are seen.
Art has always been how I make sense of the world. As a visual learner and self-taught artist, creativity has helped me hold emotion, memory, and meaning when words fall short.
My path into death work grew over time—through studying psychology and counseling, working closely with elders, and living through my own losses. As a queer, nonbinary, neurodivergent Black person, I know what it’s like to navigate systems that weren’t built with you in mind.
All of this shapes how I show up: with an emphasis on presence, accessibility, and care that honors full identities and chosen families.
Whoever you are, and however you arrive, you don’t have to carry it alone here.
It would be an honor to witness you—to help make space for what matters, and to ensure you are seen.
My work is shaped by a combination of formal training, lived experience, and long-term care work with individuals, families, and elders. I approach this role with care, accountability, and a commitment to ethical, consent-based practice.
My background includes:
This foundation allows me to offer care that is flexible, culturally responsive, and attentive to chosen family, identity, and nontraditional grief experiences—particularly for queer, trans, and BIPOC communities.
Scope of care:
I work within my role as a death doula and grief companion and do not provide medical, legal, or psychotherapy services. When additional support is needed, I encourage collaboration with licensed professionals and trusted care teams.
My background includes:
- Certified Death Doula training through nationally recognized programs
- A master’s degree in Couples and Family Counseling
- Nearly a decade of experience supporting elders and caregivers
- Training in grief support, trauma-aware care, and end-of-life planning
- Ongoing learning in creative legacy work and community-centered grief practices
This foundation allows me to offer care that is flexible, culturally responsive, and attentive to chosen family, identity, and nontraditional grief experiences—particularly for queer, trans, and BIPOC communities.
Scope of care:
I work within my role as a death doula and grief companion and do not provide medical, legal, or psychotherapy services. When additional support is needed, I encourage collaboration with licensed professionals and trusted care teams.
