Hospice of Santa Barbara is pleased to announce a generous grant of $80,000 from the Archstone Foundation. The grant will be used to support Hospice of Santa Barbara’s Spiritual Care Program in three areas: advance the integration of spiritual care into HSB’s nonmedical, community-based programs that serve people with life-threatening illness and bereavement needs; decrease the spiritual suffering & isolation of residents of long-term care facilities in the greater Santa Barbara area; extend the reach of HSB’s trained spiritual care volunteers into long-term care facilities. In addition, a key component of the grant is funds for in-depth research on the impact of the program with the goal of publishing the findings in appropriate journals. This is the third year in a row Hospice of Santa Barbara has received this award, with the amount increasing from $50,000 in 2012 to $80,000 this year.
“The Archstone Foundation is pleased to provide a third year of funding for the Hospice of Santa Barbara, Inc., Community Spiritual Care Program,” said Joseph F. Prevratil, President of the Archstone Foundation. “Today, more than ever, spirituality is both important and relevant. It is important because it gives us the opportunity to understand life and its meaning. And it takes a lifetime to understand that there are three practical truths of existence: that we are so ruined, and so loved, and in charge of so little. This program seeks to decrease spiritual suffering and isolation at the end of life; an endeavor that is so needed.”
“This generous grant ensures that a complete team of professionals can negotiate the complex effects of life-threatening disease, including the spiritual components facing patients and their families,” said Steve Jacobsen, Executive Director of Hospice of Santa Barbara. “I am grateful for the extraordinary work our Spiritual Care Counselors and Spiritual Companion volunteers have done this year and how this work is deepening and spreading in our community.”
About the Archstone Foundation
Established in 1986, Archstone Foundation is a private, non-profit foundation whose mission is to prepare society for the growing needs of an aging population. Under the leadership of president and CEO Joseph F. Prevratil, J.D., Archstone grants up to $5 million annually, primarily in Southern California. Since 1988, the Archstone Foundation has invested more than $11 million in improving palliative care at the end of life.
About Hospice of Santa Barbara
Hospice of Santa Barbara “volunteers” its free professional counseling and care management services to more than 700 children and adults every month who are experiencing the impact of a life-threatening illness, or grieving the death of a loved one. Hospice of Santa Barbara is also present on 11 local middle and high school campuses to work with children and teens who are grieving the loss of a loved one. For more information about Hospice of Santa Barbara, including volunteer opportunities, call (805) 563-8820 or visit www.hospiceofsantabarbara.org.