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.

L.I.F.E.

Cycle 29 of the L.I.F.E. Health Workshop (LHW) started Tuesday, January 25th. Cycle 5 of Latino L.I.F.E. at the Mission Neighborhood Health Center’s Clinica Esperanza is scheduled to begin Monday, March 7th. Cycle 3 of Black L.I.F.E. is mid-cycle and will graduate Monday, April 11th. 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).

L.I.F.E. Goes On (LGO), which consists of graduates of the L.I.F.E. Health Workshop program, is working on 1) a volunteer clean-up/maintenance program at the National AIDS Memorial Grove in Golden Gate Park to take place on the third Saturday of every month starting in March and lasting through October, and 2) ushering at Theater Shark’s 20th anniversary performances of Tony Kushner’s “Angels in America” starting in April.

L.I.F.E. Experience had a Valentine’s Day Party for Singles and Their Friends on Thursday, February 10th, at the Eureka Valley Recreation Center, 100 Collingwood Street. The L.I.F.E. Hep C Survivors support group is up to fourteen active members, and now has a waiting list. The next L.I.F.E. seminar will be Saturday, March 26th—topic: Trusted Support.

The L.I.F.E. Institute submitted a $624K proposal for Prevention With Positives (PWP) funding, and a $150K proposal for Health Education & Risk Reduction (HERR) funding, to the San Francisco Dept. of Public Health in response to their recent Request For Proposals (RFP No. 21-2010)— “HIV Prevention Programs for Communities Highly Affected by HIV.”

L.I.F.E. co-sponsored and participated in San Francisco’s National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day event on February 7th at City Hall and the African American Arts & Cultural Center. L.I.F.E. also co-sponsored and participated in a San Francisco Black LGBT History Month event—Generations: Black LGBT Experiences—at the LGBT Community Center on February 18th.

San Francisco HIV Health Services Planning Council

The HHSPC recently conducted its Annual Steering Retreat at the SF Zen Center to plan the 2011 Calendar. The Planning Council has been no9minated as a 2011 PRODE Organizational Grand Marshall, voting to take place in April Pride meeting. In August 2011 the Planning Council will observe the 21st Anniversary of the Passage of the Ryan White CARE Act. Last year the council was acknowledged for its 20 years of work by SF Board of Supervisors, Assemblyman Ammiano, Assemblyman Ma, Senator Leno, Senator Yee and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. The Annual Prioritization and Allocation Summit will happen in August at the SF Bahia Center. www.sfcarecouncil.org

HIV Services

HIV Services staff remained busy as ever this fall. In November, we attended the 8th National Harm Reduction Conference in Austin, TX. This was a great opportunity for us to network with other service providers from around the country, learn new strategies to help us effectively serve our clients, and to bond as a team. Additionally, on December 9th we had our annual holiday party, which provided food, gifts, and cheer to about 50 clients!

Shanti's Breast Cancer Program (LifeLines)

During the holiday season, the Breast Cancer Program (BCP) staff and volunteers facilitated several educational and wellness workshops including weekly massage, Reiki and therapeutic facial appointments, an Medicinal Herbal Tea Workshop, jewelry-making and holiday card-making classes, and our extremely popular Annual Client Winter Celebration with over 100 clients in attendance.

This past November, BCP launched its new Fundraising Advisory Committee comprised of over a dozen volunteers from the local community who are lending their time and professional talents to produce a new annual fundraising event specifically benefiting Shanti’s breast cancer services. This year’s event will take place during the afternoon at the Hotel Kabuki on Saturday, April 30th and will be featuring an artisanal chocolate tasting sponsored by Cocoa Bella.

We are also proud to announce that for the first time in our program’s history, BCP will be submitting a grant proposal to the California Breast Cancer Research Program for a pilot project on the topic of breast cancer trials education for underserved populations in collaboration with researchers from UCSF and BreastCancerTrials.org.