Shanti Project (San Francisco, Calif.)

Organizational History

Dr. Charles Garfield founded the Shanti Project in 1974 to provide emotional support for people with life-threatening illnesses in the San Francisco Bay Area. The name "Shanti" comes from the Sanskrit word for "inner peace" or the "peace that passeth understanding." The project's focus on one-to-one peer support provided by trained volunteers became a new standard in the care of the terminally ill. Shanti's methods gained national attention, and after Garfield gave the keynote speech at n cancer conference in Milan, Italy in 1979, Shanti began an international training effort. Soon nearly 300 organizations around the world were using the Shanti peer support model.

In 1981, when the earliest cases of disease that became known as AIDS first appeared in San Francisco, Shanti added them to their caseload. In 1982, Shanti's board elected Jim Geary as their Executive Director, and hired its first paid staff. That same year, Shanti provided the first-ever international trainings on AIDS care (in Italy, France and the Netherlands). In 1984, Shanti, recognizing the exponential growth of the AIDS epidemic, changed its mission from serving individuals with any terminal illness to providing services solely for those with AIDS and their loved ones.

Under Geary's guidance, Shanti quickly became a leader and a key component in San Francisco's community-based response to AIDS, creating new programs and changing existing ones to match the needs of people with AIDS (PWAs). The goal was to help them lead productive and independent lives out of hospitals and in their communities, and to reduce their healthcare costs. In addition to peer counseling and practical assistance, such as housecleaning, childcare, shopping, cooking and running errands, Shanti services expanded to include providing transportation, offering recreational and social activities and providing caregiver support. Shanti also developed the first non-hospital residential facilities for displaced people with AIDS; by 1988 they had 12 residences housing 47 PWAs.

In October 1988, Geary resigned, following six months of turmoil and amidst allegations of sexual harassment, discrimination and favoritism that resulted in a San Francisco Human Rights Commission investigation of the organization. After a nationwide search, author, teacher and activist Eric Rofes was hired as the new executive director in 1989. This move was viewed as inspiring renewed confidence in the agency. Shanti broadened its focus, opening its first AIDS residence for families with children and beginning a two-year agency-wide Multicultural Plan. In 1990, the first practical support training for the deaf and hard of hearing was held. That same year, in collaboration with the Visiting Nurses Association and Hospice, Shanti opened a home for PWAs who needed 24-hour care. 1991 brought an influx of federal funds from the Ryan White CARE Bill and from the Crossings program. The latter focused on the "historically underserved" residents of the Tenderloin, Mission, and South of Market areas of the city. This program reached out to women, children, people of color, poor, homeless, intravenous and other drug users, transvestites and transgender people.

There was another leadership and public relations crisis in 1993, when an annual review found discrepancies in the use of government funds in Shanti's housing program. Rofes and deputy director Melinda Paras resigned. Paul Lambros served as interim executive director until August of that year. Doug Holloway and Tim Wolfred assumed direction of day-to-day activities until Gloria Sandoval was appointed Shanti executive director. After being barred for a year from receiving direct federal funding, Shanti's January 1994 audit showed no misuse of funds and their federal status was reinstated. Shanti's housing program was transferred to another agency, but all other contracts were extended. In 1994, Shanti joined with the AIDS Health Project and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation in a new formal collaboration, streamlining intake and making access to services provided by all three agencies more efficient.

Between 1974 and 1994, its 20th anniversary year, Shanti trained over 7,000 volunteers who, cumulatively, provided over 2 million hours of peer counseling and practical assistance to PWAs and people with other terminal diseases. The organization continued to offer new services, including an Activities Program, which included social, recreational and cultural opportunities for men, women, and children with symptomatic HIV in San Francisco. These events provided a space for participants to make friends with others who were dealing with similar issues, to enjoy activities they might not normally be able to afford, and to explore new interests. The Activities Program included free tickets to arts, sports performance and educational events; social events such as parties, picnics, bus trips, classes, outings; a newsletter and a telephone events line.

Sandoval served as Executive Director until 1997. She was succeeded by Bob Rybicki, who served for five years. In 1998, in conjunction with activist Andrea Martin, Shanti established its LifeLines Breast Cancer Program, which offers support, education, services and care to men and women with breast cancer. In early 2003, Hywel Sims joined Shanti as Executive Director; after 18 months in the position, he was succeeded by Kevin Burns. Burns had worked in a variety of capacities for Shanti since 1995 and, prior to joining the staff, he was a peer support volunteer.

As Shanti celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2004, one of its main initiatives was to expand its programs to new parts of the country. The agency continues to share its 30-plus years of experience with other organizations nationwide. The Shanti National Training Institute offers training and consultation to agencies trying to implement new, or improve existing, volunteer programs for with clients with life-threatening illnesses. The organization continues to enhance the health and quality of life of people living with HIV/AIDS and breast cancer in San Francisco by offering numerous services. L.I.F.E. (Learning Immune Function Enhancement) Institute offers innovative health services to people living with HIV/AIDS and other chronic illnesses and conducts research on the role of psycho-social issues in disease. HIV/AIDS Services provides for the emotional and practical needs of people living with the disease by linking people living with HIV/AIDS to medical care, substance abuse treatment and volunteer caregivers. Volunteer Services gives people the opportunity to facilitate wellness classes and help Shanti clients.

As of 2007, Shanti employed close to 40 people, managed 200 volunteers and served over 2,000 people per year. It remains committed to providing services for people of all racial, ethnic, sexual orientation and cultural backgrounds affected by HIV and other life-threatening diseases, with sensitivity to preserving the rights and dignity of its clients and the HIV-affected community at large.

This organizational history was largely taken from the Guide to the Shanti Project records, 1982-1994, MSS 98-48 at the University of California, San Francisco, accessed through the Online Archive of California, August 11, 2007.

From the guide to the Shanti records, 1983-2006, (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society)

Organizational History

UCSF AIDS History Project was started in 1987 to promote the preservation of historically significant resources relating to the beginning of the AIDS Epidemic, focusing on the responses by community-based organizations (CBOs) within San Francisco. In 1991 a National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) grant was received to fund the AIDS History Project Records Survey. More than 50 agencies were surveyed to identify the records that should be permanently preserved. A second two-year NHPRC grant funded an extended survey of collections and development of an acquisition plan. A major part of the project was providing instruction in records management practices to the CBOs. A third NHPRC grant was received in 1993 for another two years for the records acquisition and processing project phase; this grant lasted until July 1995, later extended to December 1995.

The video and audio materials came in several donations over the length of the project and were combined into a single collection. The single largest set of materials relates to the Shanti Project; there are also significant materials relating to the Sixth International Conference on AIDS. For more information on Shanti Project see MSS 98-48, and for the Sixth International Conference see AR 91-19. Other materials come from various television stations, amateur and professional production companies, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and other governmental and non-governmental agencies. The source of each tape is listed when known.

From the guide to the AIDS history project audio/video collection, 1983-1992, (The UCSF Library and Center for Knowledge Management, Archives and Special Collections)