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