Our Story: An Appropriate Response
The Early Days The Zen idea of an appropriate response is the simple act of finding practical ways to work toward the goal of reducing suffering, an idea pivotal to Buddhist teachings. The creation of Zen Hospice Project was an appropriate response initiated in 1986 by Zen practitioner Martha deBarros, and other members of the […]
Heidi Hartsough’s journey from the Peace Corps to ZCP Volunteer
Heidi Hartsough lights up a room when she steps into it. Her smile, even when talking about grief and loss, is ever present, and when she talks about her volunteer work with Zen Caregiving Project (ZCP), an easiness and lightness appear. In many ways, Heidi has been called to ZCP as a volunteer at Laguna […]
Collaboration in Action: ZCP Volunteers and Curry Senior Center
The streets of San Francisco’s Tenderloin district can appear to be a cacophony of poverty and human suffering: crowded, dirty streets, the occasional smell of urine and feces, a barefoot person huddled on the sidewalk, their meager belongings strewn about them, tents, open drug use. For some, with nowhere else to go, the street is […]
A Volunteer Caregiver at the Cadillac Hotel Finds Meaning in the Tenderloin
John Ungvarsky is a thoughtful, contemplative environmental scientist who retired from the Environmental Protection Agency in August 2022, and in October 2022 he began his training at Zen Caregiving Project to become a volunteer caregiver at the Cadillac Hotel in the Tenderloin. “Anybody who has spent time in San Francisco is aware of the Tenderloin,” […]
