Who We Serve
WITH OUR AWARD-WINNING EDUCATION PROGRAMS
People from all walks of life need support in facing life’s most important challenges. Our workshops and lectures are appropriate for people living with life-threatening or chronic illness, people caring for others who are frail or elderly. They are also useful for service professionals (healthcare, social service, mental health) who seek greater caregiving competence for client issues related to aging, illness, dying, and bereavement.
Over 18,000 people have attended our workshops and support groups.
WITH OUR COMPREHENSIVE GRIEF SUPPORT
Our Grief Support clients are Bay Area residents from all walks of life. Some are young, some are seniors, some are all too familiar with loss, some are new to the territory. Many have been profoundly affected by the death of a loved one, others are caring for ill or frail loved ones and feel them slipping away, slowly but surely. With a strong reputation and a healthy referral network, we are able to engage and serve a broad cross section of the population.
WITH OUR 6-BED HOSPICE RESIDENCE
Our Guest House serves the Bay Area by providing a unique care environment for those facing the end of life. Terminally ill people from all walks of life and backgrounds live their last days and weeks in a high quality home-like environment. But our impact is far from local. Our model for residential care is emulated all over the world and has been featured in national media like National Geographic and the Oprah Winfrey Show. This exposure helps us meet our intention of having our work ripple out as widely as possible, helping us all turn towards death as a lesson in living.
WITH OUR NATIONALLY-ACCLAIMED VOLUNTEER CAREGIVER PROGRAM
In our current work we direct the Volunteer Caregiver component of the Laguna Honda Hospital Hospice, the only publicly run hospice in San Francisco and one of the largest in the country. Hospice residents come to us in the final stages of terminal diseases including cancer, dementia and AIDS. Many have no friends or relatives to care for them and might otherwise face fear, pain and dying alone. Over 97% of those we serve come from low income or poverty backgrounds.
- 24% are African American, 24% are Asian American, 9% are Hispanic
- 10% were homeless at the time of admission; 81% unemployed
- 31% were foreign born, many of whom speak little or no English
- 86% are over the age of 56
WITH OUR AWARD-WINNING EDUCATION PROGRAMS
People from all walks of life need support in facing life’s most important challenges. Our workshops and lectures are appropriate for people living with life-threatening or chronic illness, people caring for others who are frail or elderly. They are also useful for service professionals (healthcare, social service, mental health) who seek greater caregiving competence for client issues related to aging, illness, dying, and bereavement.
Over 18,000 people have attended our workshops and support groups.
WITH OUR COMPREHENSIVE GRIEF SUPPORT
Our Grief Support clients are Bay Area residents from all walks of life. Some are young, some are seniors, some are all too familiar with loss, some are new to the territory. Many have been profoundly affected by the death of a loved one, others are caring for ill or frail loved ones and feel them slipping away, slowly but surely. With a strong reputation and a healthy referral network, we are able to engage and serve a broad cross section of the population.