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Positive Being
[ View Opportunities ]
| Last updated on January 19, 2008 |
Positive Being is dedicated to improving the quality of life for those with HIV/AIDS through healing touch.
The organization seeks to heal and nurture by helping those with HIV reclaim their bodies as a site of well-being, a source of healing strength, and a temple of the divine. The organization fosters the integration of the physical, healing, and spiritual nature of our bodies to effect positive change in the health and well-being of men with HIV.
These aims serve as a complement (rather than an alternative) to drug therapies. Whereas pharmaceuticals function by negating the virus, the programs of Positive Being function by affirming the positive aspects and healing potential within our own bodies. The organization emphasizes the importance of loving touch as a healing tool for a population beleaguered by impersonal clinical therapies and the damaging side effects of toxic drugs.
Positive Being encompasses a "hands-on" approach to battling HIV disease--and the attendant alienation, isolation, and depression that comes with it--by promoting awareness and increasing understanding of how touch can transform lives for the better.
Description:
Positive Being brings touch into the lives of those isolated and debilitated by HIV/AIDS, especially those with low incomes. Everyone in our organization, including the Executive Director, donates their time, money and skills; there are no paid employees. Currently we provide massage to low-income people in San Francisco on AIDS disability, helping them reclaim and connect with their bodies to feel less "untouchable" and alone. There are also the benefits inherent in massage, from the reduction of stress, increase in lymph and blood flow and ears, to the easing of sore muscles (a common complaint among HIVers). We offer scholarships for our clients to pursue body-based workshops and this year (2008) we will be presenting our own weekend workshop "Exploring the Body Positive" at Wildwood, a retreat center near the Russian River.
We at Positive Being believe in the power of touch. Touch is the most primal and powerful of the senses. When it is good, when it is nurturing and loving, it’s ability to heal can be monumental. We believe in the revitalizing power of touch to heal us physically, emotionally and spiritually and I hope that you will support Positive Being in the practice of this belief.
History:
William "Bill" Stern, Ph.D., CMT, our Executive Director, founded Positive Being in 1999 after his own battle with AIDS and the isolation that so often attends it. Bill's struggle from his deathbed to the conception of the agency inspires the board, volunteers and clients. He became a CMT (Certified Massage Therapist) in 1998 and by the end of 1999, he had assembled a team of volunteer massage therapists which bring massage to low-income people with AIDS.
Positive Being worked under a fiscal sponsor for several years until it was granted it's own 501(c)3 in August of 2004. Since then we have expanded our programs to include scholarships for clients to do body-based workshops, as well as sponsoring our own workshops. This year (2008) will be our first three-day workshop at a retreat center. We hope this will become an annual event. All Positive Being clients will receive scholarships for nearly the full amount.
Contact people:
Main office number: (415) 821-6477
Address:
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1170 South Van Ness, Suite #1
San Francisco, CA 94110
(See a map) |
Web Site: http://www.positivebeing.org
Directions:
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We are located on the ground floor of a Victorian House on South Van Ness between 22nd and 23rd Streets, near the Post Office.
Nearest Metro/Subway Stop: BART 24 St.?mission stop,
Walk distance (in minutes): 8
Nearest Bus Stop: 14, 14L, 49, 33, 22 buses, 3-8 minute walk |
Miscellaneous Information
| Besides English, which languages are spoken at your agency? |
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French
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| What is the minimum age for volunteers at your agency? |
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21
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| Is your agency wheelchair accessible? |
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No
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| Does your agency have the capacity to host groups of more than 10? |
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No
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| Does your agency have the capacity to host groups of more than 20? |
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No
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competence, suitability, or reliability of such organization or person by
The Volunteer Center Serving San Francisco and San Mateo Counties;
nor does The Volunteer Center Serving San Francisco and San Mateo Counties
sponsor or endorse any third-party web site.
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