Community Partnerships Strengthen Caregiving Support

As the impact of COVID-19 pandemic began to be felt, Zen Caregiving Project and Caring Across Generations partnered to support family caregivers. Zen Caregiving Project’s Executive Director, Roy Remer, was a guest for three weeks on Caring Across Generations’ weekly Caregiver Corner facebook live  sessions.

Roy discussed how mindfulness can be used in caregiving, and is particularly useful when coping with difficult situations like caregiving at a distance or sheltering-in-place. The three sessions got over 2480 views in their first three weeks.

Ever Presence brought local and national experts together to create dialogue around death and dying to Salt Lake City, Utah. Zen Caregiving Project was pleased to be invited to participate in the new event’s activities. The inaugural one-day gathering included presenters from around the world who have worked in end-of-life care. In addition to a symposium presentation, Zen Caregiving’s Executive Director, Roy Remer, led a daylong Open Death Conversation workshop. Zen Caregiving Project will be returning to the symposium again this year to participate in its roster of activities.

This spring we partnered with the Ray Dolby Brain Health Center, the Presence Care Project, Family Caregiver Alliance and the San Francisco Department of Aging and Adult Services to run a day of wellness, relaxation, and community for family and friends who care for a loved one with a dementia-related illness. Held at the San Francisco Botanical Gardens, the event offered caregivers an opportunity to participate in various activities that promote rest, connection, and mindfulness. The event was well-received, and its success has led to plans for it to become an annual event.

Zen Caregiving Project partnered with Infinito to produce the Infinito Festival About Living and Dying Symposium in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Zen Caregiving Project Executive Director Roy Remer was a keynote speaker at the symposium and co-lead a day-long workshop with Infinito founder Tom Almeida that focused on cultivating a healthy relationship with death and mortality. Zen Caregiving Project is supporting the Sao Paulo medical community in establishing a residential hospice facility and in creating a culture of hospice volunteering.

The Bloom Project is a Portland-based non-profit that provides fresh bouquets, made from flowers donated by wholesale florists and grocery stores, to local hospice and palliative care patients. The Bloom Project secured San Francisco flower donations and has trained Zen Caregiving Project volunteers on how to beautifully and thoughtfully arrange flowers to last up to seven days. Our volunteers pick up the flowers, arrange them into bouquets and make deliveries to each resident in the Palliative Care ward at Laguna Honda Hospital, bringing beauty and joy to the residents and their families.

In October 2020, the Bloom Project permanently closed due to the extensive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are grateful to the Bloom Project for their wonderful work over the thirteen years.

Zen Hospice Project, now known as Zen Caregiving Project, was founded as part of the San Francisco Zen Center before it incorporated as a separate 501c3 non-profit organization in 1988. After more than 30 years, the long-standing relationship between the two organizations continues. Paul Haller, a leading SFZC teacher, and its former abbot is a member of our board of directors. Senior SFZC teachers have been regular presenters at our volunteer community meetings. Many of our volunteers come to us through their relationship to the center. And, current and former Zen Caregiving Project staff are involved in the creation of an SFZC project to create a zen-inspired senior living community in Sonoma County.

Maitri is a non-profit that provides residential and hospice care for people living with AIDS. Our organizations work closely and share learnings to provide the best training possible to our respective volunteers in long-term palliative care and hospice settings. Most recently the Volunteer Coordinator of Maitri attended our volunteer training to learn more about our approach and Zen Caregiving Project staff delivered a talk at the Maitri Volunteer program.