Maitri-Compassionate Care

This review is just for the charity gala…
I have gone to the charity gala for two year in a row now to support the great cause these guys work for, and of the hand full of galas I attend every year, this is actually one of my favorites. The food is always plentiful, the silent auction is a lot of fun, people that attend are friendly, and the entertainment is soulful. Also, the have a new photo booth vendor each year which is great, last year was black and white photos, this year was props…
Anyways, I think they do a good job of throwing this event each year.

The employees and volunteers perform amazing work for a special group of folks. The work I do at Maitri is food for my soul.

The volunteer training at Maitri is excellent, not only as preparation for volunteer work, but for preparing you to deal with illness and death as it may occur around you in life. The training covers a wide range of relevant topics and gives ample opportunity to explore difficult life and dying issues. The bonus is getting to know about an organization that serves our community in a very important way.

My time as a Maitri volunteer began with a two-​weekend long volunteer training. It was a lot of time, but it was so worth it. I have attended a tremendous slew of orientations, and Stan (the volunteer coordinator) puts together one of the best – not too cheesy, not too boring, and with good catered food! He skillfully brings the group through considering the emotional, spiritual, practical, clinical, intellectual, and even fun aspects of hospice volunteering. He also helps maintain a very gentle and open environment throughout discussion of deeply personal and emotional topics.
I went on to volunteer at Maitri for two years, and I found it to be an immensely rewarding experience. I highly recommend volunteering at Maitri if you are interested in end of life care, HIV/​AIDS, or simply contributing to the San Francisco LGBT community.
The residents and staff at Maitri are amazing. Stan is probably the most wonderful, attentive, warmhearted, and humble volunteer directors you will ever interact with. If you are considering volunteering in SF, I HIGHLY recommend donating your efforts to Maitri.

Have you ever experienced something in life that forever changes you — in a positive way? Would you like to?
Something amazing happens when you step outside of your world, and enter the world of volunteering. You learn to appreciate life, to be more open to others, to know that there is something more to life than living for yourself.
Volunteering at Maitri has been one of the best experiences of my life. From the moment you walk into the 15 bed home, you realize that there is something remarkable going on here! There is a sense of peace, love and compassion within the walls of Maitri. Knowing that there is a place like this in existence reassures my faith in humanity.
Come and be a volunteer — see how your life can change!

It is my hope that no one ever need use Maitri’s services. But should you need them, know in your core that the care you will receive here is second to none.
My friend Sean Garnett (aka DJ Sean G.) passed from this world four years ago, on December 26^th, 2003. He suffered from an AIDS-​related complication called PML (? I think) which, very quickly, robs you of all your bodily capacities and then kills you. Within two months of its inception, Sean was dead, and we were left reeling. If it hadn’t been for Maitri, the caring, loving staff and the dedication to their mission, I don’t know how we could have survived it.
It started with Sean, who at the time lived on Collingwood renting a room in some crazy tweaker’s apartment, becoming more and more dizzy and unable to complete thoughts. My housemate Jeffrey (who was Sean’s ex) and I became concerned when he fell out of his loft bed trying to climb down and use the restroom. After discovering his ailment, we moved him into our house and a home-​care nurse began coming over every day to tend to his needs while Jeffrey and I were at work. Within two weeks of moving in, Sean could not walk. Within a week after that, he couldn’t talk or eat either. Sean’s mother Patrice and the rest of his family came out from Indianapolis and sat with him at our place, while Jeffrey and I felt helpless and useless. What could we do but just go to work, and try to make everyone feel welcome? Our two bedroom, two bathroom apartment on Crestmont became home to eight or nine people at any given time.
After about five weeks of watching Sean deteriorate, he could only communicate by pointing to an alphabet that Jeffrey had fashioned on a piece of paper, and spell out words. It contained all the letters of the alphabet, along with the words, «yes», «no», «laugh», and «frown». Although Sean lost just about all his abilities, he was able to point at that paper until the very end. His mind stayed somewhat with him.
The home care nurse told us about Maitri when Sean’s needs could no longer be met at our house. We investigated and discovered they were a perfect match. It was a very emotional decision, but a necessary one. Unbelievably, they charged something like 225.00 for the care given during the three remaining weeks of Sean’s life, and provided an unlimited amount of love and skill. Jeffrey sat by his side until the end, as I had flown to Arizona to be with my family that Christmas. When I got home, he had died. All kinds of people were at my house when I arrived, and Jeffrey quietly walked me into my room and hugged me. «Sean died this morning.»
Where is Maitri? It’s across the street from the N-​Judah stop behind the Market Street Safeway, just after the Metro comes out of the subway, at Church and Duboce. Next time you’re down there, take a look up at those upstairs windows. There’s a lot of love happening inside.
Sean used to DJ Monday nights at the Stud. He also DJ’ed the Soul of Pride stage during SF Gay Pride in 2002 and 2003. He smiled a lot, and was a friend who was always ready to listen.
RIP Sean G! We miss you!

Maitri (say «my-​tree») provides housing and care to about 15 men and women living with AIDS. My experience there is as a student observing hospice nursing care.
Maitri is beautiful, clean, and staffed by excellent people. There are garden patios — one smoking, one non-​smoking — a great kitchen and lovely communal dining space, homey rooms, lots of natural light, bamboo floors. The atmosphere is peaceful and very pleasant. I look forward to my visits there and deeply respect the staff and the whole ethic of the place.

Time on your hands? Want to volunteer at a Hospice for people living with AIDS? Maitri is the place for you. Woody Allen once said «I don’t want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying.» Issac Asminov said, «Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It’s the transition that’s troublesome.» Maitri attempts to make that transition a whole lot less troublesome. Maitri assures it’s residents that no one need die alone.
Maitri, which is a sanskrit word meaning «Compassionate Friendship» is a 15-​room residential facility for people living with AIDS. It’s compassionate volunteers provide practical and emotional support to residents in a warm and beautiful environment. All you have to do is walk through the doors of Maitri to get an immediate sense of calm and caring.
I highly recommend this place for people who need a supportive place to spend their last days or for those who have enough compassion and heart to spend time with the dying.
Check out their next volunteer training.
And remember the immortal words of Margaret Mitchell from «Gone With The Wind»…“Death and taxes and childbirth! There’s never any convenient time for any of them.”