Zen Hospice Project

273 Page Street
San Francisco, CA 94102-5616
Telephone: (415) 863-2910
Website: zenhospice.org

Description of Organization

Zen Hospice Project’s Programs include the following:

  • The Volunteer Programs train and support a community of caring people as they serve those needing care, both at our Guest House and at LagunaHonda Hospital, the primary referral site for uninsured people in San Francisco.
  • The Grief Support services assist people in coping with the heartbreak of a significant loss, be it from the death of a loved one or the incremental losses of aging.
  • The Education workshops, trainings, and consulting services teach people how to manage the challenges of aging, dying, and caregiving with skill and confidence.

Grant(s) Awarded

In 2021, a COVID-19 Operational Grant of $7,500 was awarded to Zen Hospice Project DBA Zen Caregiving Project to support staff salaries, enabling them to continue their Volunteer Program.  The COVID-19 Impact:  Due to COVID-19 in early March 2020, the City of San Francisco closed Laguna Honda Hospital to all external visitors, including volunteers who previously served in-person shifts in the palliative care ward.  After the closure, Zen Caregiving Project has pivoted to both ensure the volunteers remain engaged via regular online community meetings and retreats, and to reach patients at a time when they feel particularly isolated through an online face-time program that links volunteers with patients.

In 2012, a grant in the amount of $52,500 was awarded  for a program to create a replicable model for professional education to implement more compassionate, contemplative and effective End-of-Life and Palliative care. The ultimate goal was to establish the outcomes and findings of the program into evidence-based medicine, advancing these contemplative practices into the mainstream aspects of healthcare to support the greatest need.

In 2009, an additional grant in the amount of $2,500 was awarded to  the Volunteer Caregiver Program.

In 2008, a grant in the amount of $10,000 was awarded to support the Volunteert Caregiver Program. The Volunteer Caregiver Program integrates spiritual practice and end-of-life care training with service to the dying to embrace each moment of life and death as a pathway to self-realization and harmony. This program brings essential support to low income and under-served populations that face socioeconomic barriers to care, such as the poor, under-insured and uninsured, as well as those lacking education or facing language barriers.