An individual interested in applying for exit guide support first speaks with one of our volunteer coordinators.

After discussing your circumstances, the coordinator can evaluate whether you might be an appropriate candidate for our services, and will discuss that process, as well as other options you might have.

Applications for exit guide services are reviewed by the Medical Review Committee, comprised of doctors and others with medical expertise, who evaluate whether your circumstances meet our medical criteria.

If you apply and are accepted for guide support, you will be assigned guides who will evaluate your circumstances, support you in initiating difficult conversations with your closest loved ones, work with you in planning a responsible self-deliverance, and, if the guides are comfortable with your situation, they will provide information and education so that you can safely end your life if and when you choose. In the future, if you decide you want to end your life, the guides can be with you for companionship, if you wish.

Who Should Apply?

The appropriate time to apply for exit guide services is when you anticipate wanting to exit within a year or less. We encourage everyone to think and plan ahead, but the Exit Guide Program exists for those who are actively considering self-deliverance. For those who want to be prepared for the future, the coordinators can direct you to useful published resources.

We serve those with serious physical illnesses, including early-stage dementia, that significantly impair quality of life. Those with a constellation of physical problems that collectively seriously degrade quality of life may also apply. Though we understand the suffering caused by mental illness, we do not accept applications from those whose primary complaint is related to mental illness.

Applying For Exit Guide Services

After speaking with a coordinator, to initiate an application, please submit the following to the address the coordinator provides:

  • A signed and dated personal statement,
  • Medical records supporting what you describe in your personal statement,
  • A Quality of Life Impact Scale assessment (a form provided by the coordinator), and
  • If you are willing, an optional Research Questionnaire (provided by the coordinator).

If your paperwork appears sufficient, the coordinator will schedule you for an interview with another of our volunteers. The interview and the materials you submitted are sent to the Medical Review Committee who either accept your application for guide assignment, request more information or deny your application.