Shanti's 37th Annual Benefit Profiled in Bay Times!


Singer Connie Champagne,
honoree Renee Heidtman,
and State Senator Mark Leno
at the Shanti Annual Benefit
at the Hotel Nikko. Photo by Rink

Shanti Celebrates Nearly Four Decades of Service
Published: November 3, 2011

Founded in 1974 by Dr. Charlie Garfield at the UCSF Cancer Institute, Shanti was one of the first-ever volunteer organizations to work with terminally-ill individuals, and later became one of the very first community-based HIV/AIDS organizations in the world. Shanti has trained over 15,000 volunteers in the Bay Area and 600 organizations worldwide in the Shanti Model of Peer Support.

Shanti Executive Director Kaushik Roy welcomed guests to the 37th annual awards dinner, “Compassion Is Universal,” at Hotel Nikko. He said the challenging times in which they operate have proven that their mission is as important today as ever before: “We are here to enhance the quality of life, health, and well-being of people living with life-threatening illnesses.”

To read more click here.

John Weatherman Receives the James C. Hormel Client Community Spirit Award

John Weatherman with his husband Louis Kelsh
holding the 2011 James C. Hormel Client Community Spirit Award

Program Updates - Fall 2011

Volunteer Services
Our next Peer Support Volunteer Training is scheduled for November 4-6 and the evening of the November 9. For more information, please visit www.shanti.org or contact Volunteer Services at 415-674-4712.

L.I.F.E.
Cycle 30 of the L.I.F.E.® (Learning Immune Function Enhancement) Health Workshop (LHW) will graduate Tuesday, September 6th. Cycle 5 of Latino L.I.F.E. at Mission Neighborhood Health Center’s Clinica Esperanza graduated May 30th.

L.I.F.E. Experience has moved to Wednesdays at the Eureka Valley Recreation Center (100 Collingwood Street). L.I.F.E. Experience is a free social gathering for gay/bisexual HIV+ men and their friends/partners that provides an opportunity to meet other men and couples and explore topics that are important to the HIV+ community in a Poz-centric, supportive, and friendly environment.

L.I.F.E. has an ongoing low-impact Yoga for HIV-Positive Health class on Tuesday afternoons at Notre Dame Plaza (347 Dolores Street).

The L.I.F.E. Goes On (LGO) Project, which consists of graduates of the L.I.F.E. Health Workshop Program engaging in altruistic activities that give back to the community, is doing a volunteer clean-up/maintenance program at the National AIDS Memorial Grove in Golden Gate Park that takes place on the third Saturday of every month through October.

The L.I.F.E. Hepatitis C Survivors support group is going strong with fourteen active members. This group is a closed support group for clients co-infected with HCV and HIV.

The 6th annual Healing Water Wilderness Adventures/Shanti weekend took place August 20th and 21st. The Healing Waters/Shanti weekend is a yearly camping and white water rafting trip on California’s American River for Shanti’s L.I.F.E. clients.

The 4th annual L.I.F.E. Alumni Reunion party will be Sunday, August 28th, at the Castro Street Country Club (4058 18th Street btw Castro & Hartford), and is co-sponsored by the LGO Project and MOM’s Pharmacy.

L.I.F.E. co-sponsored the HIV Pavilion at this year’s San Francisco Pride Celebration with STOP AIDS Project’s Positive Force on June 26th. The HIV Pavilion traditionally provides a space for rest and relaxation for the HIV+ community during Pride.

Still Around: 30 Years of AIDS – 15 Stories of Hope (a feature-length compilation of 15 short films about HIV/AIDS generated by the HIV Story Project ─ a nonprofit media initiative that originated with Shanti’s LGO Project almost three years ago) had its West Coast premiere at Frameline35: The San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival on June 24th. The screening was co-presented by Shanti, BAY Positives, AIDS Housing Alliance SF, and the AIDS Emergency Fund.


HIV Services
Wednesday Haircuts 10:30am-12:00pm (alternates weeks, please call for details)

Thursday SPCA Therapy Dogs 11:00am-12:00pm (First two weeks of the month)

Shanti's Breast Cancer Program (LifeLines)
The 10 Year Anniversary Event at the Hotel Kabuki for Shanti’s Breast Cancer Program was a huge success! We would like to thank everyone who attended, donated and volunteered with special thanks to the event’s Advisory Committee. Guests enjoyed a delicious chocolate tasting sponsored by CoCoBella Chocolate, raffle prizes and live music performances by the Bock & Orr Jazz Duo and the incomparable Ms. Connie Champagne, along with inspirational words from former client, Ms. Maria Leone. The sold-out event netted over $10,000 for the program.

The Event Advisory Committee is currently recruiting members for our Spring 2012 event. Please contact Program Director, Maria Caprio directly (415) 674-4780 or eMail if you are interested in being a part of this fabulous event.

We are also proud to announce that the San Francisco Department of Public Health and its Breast & Cervical Cancer Services Unit has renewed the program’s collaborative contract through 2016. This contract is unique to Shanti, officially linking our vital services directly to San Francisco’s most underserved breast cancer patients.

The L.I.F.E. Goes On (LGO) “Altruism” Project Coming to a Season End

The L.I.F.E. Goes On (LGO) “Altruism” Project activity – AIDS Memorial Grove Community Workaday is coming to a season end. Helping out with the maintenance of the AIDS Memorial Grove in Golden Gate Park is health promoting! So come out, come out, wherever you are!
The outdoor activity that is meditative and community-oriented. I’ve been calling it ‘social gardening’.

There is a registration to fill out.
The Volunteer Days are the third Saturday of each month from March through October. Volunteers help with the work of creating and maintaining the AIDS Memorial Grove for all to enjoy. Community Volunteer Workdays are a rewarding experience. Many first-time volunteers become ongoing participants.
We will be among upwards of approximately 100 people expected to be at the Grove.

Location:
The Grove is located near the east end of Golden Gate Park, just a couple of blocks west of where the Park’s Panhandle ends at the intersection of Fell/Oak and Stanyan Streets…National AIDS Memorial Grove

Getting There:
MUNI BUS – Take any of the following buses west from downtown: #5, #7, #21, #71, or #73.
MUNI N-JUDAH – On the underground N-Judah streetcar, go west (away from downtown) to the intersection of Carl and Arguello Streets…
AIDS Memorial

If you dont know how to get to the Grove – we meet at Caffe Trieste on Market and Gough about 7:30AM and catch the nearby 71 MUNI about 7:50AM out to the Grove.
If you know the way – we can meet you there by the coffee and bagels about 8:30AM.

Weather:
San Francisco weather is usually nice during the Volunteer season. Still, (as we all know) it’s usually advisable to dress in layers in S.F. as you can never be certain.

Come out and join us for the last social gardening outing for the 2011 season. Contact Derrick Mapp by eMail or 415-674-4703 for more information and what to expect.

THE NEXT VOLUNTEER DAY:
• October 15th (Saturday)

Job Opportunity: Director of Program Development of the Shanti L.I.F.E. Institute

Job Title: Shanti L.I.F.E. Director of Program Development
Program/Department: Shanti L.I.F.E. Institute
Immediate Supervisor: Executive Director
Job Status: Full-time, exempt
Start Date: November 1, 2011, negotiable;

About Shanti and the L.I.F.E. Institute
Shanti is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life, improving the well-being, and promoting the independence of people living with HIV/AIDS, breast cancer, and other life-threatening illnesses. Shanti is committed to delivering services that are culturally relevant, client-centered, non-judgmental, and responsive to the changing needs of people living with these life-threatening illnesses. We aim to support the dignity and self-esteem of people as they find their own solutions to the challenge of disease.

The Shanti L.I.F.E. Institute provides curriculum development, training, technical assistance, research, and consulting to health departments and agencies across the country. The L.I.F.E. institute also owns and operates L.I.F.E. Program® interventions, which are effective self-management and health-enhancement programs for people living with an HIV. L.I.F.E. is designed to simultaneously boost the immune system, reduce risk behavior, increase adherence to health routines (including medications), and increase engagement in healthcare, all of which work together to improve overall health. Currently programs developed by Shanti are offered in 19 sites  in California, Florida, Illinois, Lousiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, and New York.

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Sonoma Becomes Newest L.I.F.E. Site

Face to Face
Five agencies have come together to bring L.I.F.E. to Sonoma County, California. L.I.F.E. is a 13-week HIV self-management program designed to help people living with HIV improve their health. The network of five Sonoma AIDS service organizations is comprised of Santa Rosa Community Health Centers, Face to Face, Peers for Positive Change, West County Health Centers, and Food for Thought. The network will provide two L.I.F.E. workshops per year. Workshops will rotate between campuses in Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, Guerneville/Russian River, and Forestville. The first workshop begins on September 7th, and runs on Wednesdays until the beginning of December. To learn more about L.I.F.E. in Sonoma or sign up for L.I.F.E., email Myra Mayesh or call her at (707) 874-2273 x2215.

Program Updates - Spring 2011

Volunteer Services

From March 11th-13th, we conducted our first Peer Support Training of 2011. During the weekend, 25 new Peer Support Volunteers were trained to provide practical and emotional support to our HIV Services and Lifelines clients. Our upcoming Peer Support Volunteer Training will be held August 13-15th plus the evening of August 18th.

Volunteer Services is currently looking for volunteers to help out with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence Bingo on Saturday, April 9 and Saturday, May 14, from 4-8pm. Shanti is a beneficiary of the Sister’s Bingo, and volunteers are needed to help in the main room and in the snack bar. For more information, please visit www.shanti.org or contact Megan O’Brien at (415) 674-4708.

Black Voices of Queer Cinema: Celebration. Struggle. Realness.

Thursday, March 10
7:30pm
San Francisco LGBT Community Center


This collection of powerful shorts brings together snap filled classics of new queer cinema, binary bashing slam poetry, Pam Grier diva-worship, timely contemporary teen struggles, and critically-acclaimed award winning films. Join us as we highlight some of the best in queer black cinema and stay for the lively post-screening discussion!

Co-presented by Black Coalition on AIDS, Nia Collective, San Francisco Black Film Festival, and Shanti.

For more information go to www.frameline.org.

National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day March Candlelight Vigil
Monday, February 7th

  • Starting Time and Location:
    The Steps of City Hall at Polk Street, 5:00 pm
  • Program Location:
    African-American Arts and Cultural Center, 762 Fulton Street, 6:00 pm
  • Special Keynote Speaker:
    Bishop Yvette Flunder, City of Refuge, United Church of Christ

Shanti's Programs are Highlighted in "The Western Addition "

At Shanti, Volunteers 'Heal' By Simply Being There
Thu, 30 Dec 2010

By David Goodman

In the early 1980s, when the spread of HIV/AIDS was primarily among gay men and was quickly becoming an epidemic, Dr. Charles Garfield – faculty member at the University of California, San Francisco – wanted to respond to the disease in an unorthodox way: Train volunteers to provide emotional support to suffering individuals.

However, when Garfield began to research volunteer-based organizations in the hope of finding inspiration, he found that nobody had yet written on the subject. So he did what anyone deeply dedicated to a cause might do: He wrote the book himself, and in the process founded Shanti – the first known organization to focus upon serving the emotional needs of HIV/AIDS patients.

Shanti – meaning “inner peace” or “tranquility” in Sanskrit – quickly became ground central for the HIV community and today, more than 1,000 people take advantage of Shanti’s services – which include a drop-in service and a peer support volunteer program – the Learning Immune Function Enhancement Program – L.I.F.E.– which focuses on health and wellness.

To read the entire article, please visit The Western Edition