VETERANS & FAMILIES. The past three years, we have continued to provide volunteer massage therapy to injured soldiers and their families living in Fisher Houses at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. In September 2011, Walter Reed will close due to BRAC and we will continue to work with these families who will be transferred to the National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, MD. Our partnership with Fisher Houses managed by the Army, Navy, Air Force and the Veterans Administration continue to evolve and expand. A school to work program is being developed for young veterans and spouses with a target rollout of Spring 2012.
SHELTER PROGRAMS. It started with a small, program grant from the Palmer Foundation. We organized three teams of massage therapists and a yoga instructor to provide services to residents at three shelters managed by My Sisters Place in Washington, D.C. Our second domestic violence shelter program at SafePlace in Austin, TX. In January 2011, our third program was launched in downtown Denver at Safe House, and this Spring we partnered with Alternative Healing Network, based in San Diego, to start a program for women at the YWCA San Diego.
DISASTER RELIEF. We have an alliance with Emergency Response Massage International (ERMI), an international organization dedicated to deploying trained volunteers to work with first and secondary responders, volunteers and disaster victims. Finding ways to connect with organizations on the ground allows us to offer an access point for interested therapists. We also supported emergency response teams that have served post-Katrina volunteers of relief organizations such as AmeriCorps Disaster Team, Habitat for Humanity, Save the Children, Common Ground Collective, and Disaster Corps who have helped rebuild the communities in New Orleans and coastal towns in Mississippi.
SCHOOL-TO-WORK. An important goal of Touch of Relief is to develop innovative, high quality education and training programs that empower individuals and families to better manage daily stresses, increase awareness of the benefits of holistic health modalities, and encourage participation in the various field of complementary and alternative health care through learn to work programs. The development grant from the Palmer Foundation has helped identify community, school and corporate partners in select cities.