Our Mission: To care for anyone experiencing the impact 
of a serious illness or grieving the death of a loved one.

Valentine's Day celebrations last week brought thoughts of love and loved ones to many of our minds. For those of us who have experienced the death of someone we love, our hearts - the very symbol of the holiday - are the part of our being most damaged by the death of a romantic partner. 

With this in mind, I've been reflecting on an article, "Love and Death," by Suzanne Retzinger, a licensed counselor with Hospice of Santa Barbara since 2002. In it, she asserts that perhaps there are only two essentials in life - love and death. She writes, "we grieve because we love.  Grief reflects the magnitude of our love, yet is not our love." Read the rest of her piece on our blog.
Mentors Needed for 'I Have a Friend' Program

 
Hospice of Santa Barbara is seeking at least two more volunteers to make a difference i n a child's life by joining the "I Have A Friend ®"  Mentor Program. Mentor volunteers are adults who experienced the death of a parent or sibling as a child and are trained and matched with children who have recently experienced a similar loss. Mentors help a child to heal, thrive and feel "normal" again.
 
Training takes place over two consecutive Saturdays.
 
Date: Saturday, May 6 and 13, 2017  
Time: 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Location: Hospice of Santa Barbara, 2050 Alameda Padre Serra, Suite #100, Santa Barbara 93103


For more information and a mentor application, please visit hospiceofsb.org or contact Nicole Romasanta, Director of Volunteer Services, at (805) 563-8820.
 
Upcoming Learn at Lunch Events

Join us on the third Friday of each month for "HSB Learn at Lunch," an informal series of community educational events for staff, volunteers, board members and friends to d eepen our knowledge of issues related to our work. Attendees are welcome to bring lunches.  No RSVP necessary. See upcoming dates below.
 
March 17 from 12-1pm
Steve Jacobsen, Co-Director of La Casa de Maria
"Death, Dying and Spirituality from Buddha to Postmodern Santa Barbara."
Come hear one of our favorite storytellers, Steve Jacobsen, trace the dying stories of Buddha, Moses, Jesus, Mohammad and contemporary popular figures in light of the recent medical definitions. 

April 21 from 12-1pm
Luciana Mitzkun, Family Services Director at Friendship Center
"End-of-Life Services for Patients with Dementia and their Caregivers"
 
Missed one of our previous Learn at Lunch sessions? Contact us to view taped prior talks.
Most recent: Feb. 17 Dr. Michael Kearney "Becoming Flow-throughs: How to be with our 
pain" 
 
On Exhibit: Joie de Vivre by Kat Martin


Visit the Leigh Block Gallery within Hospice of Santa Barbara to view local artist Kat Martin's solo-art exhibition, "Joie de Vivre" (Joy of Living).  Martin's art provides an artistic reflection of a life suffused with nature, what she has deemed as her own "visual journal."
 
Kat will donate 25 percent of the proceeds from her art sales to Hospice of Santa Barbara. Her work will be on display until May 12, 2017. 
 
Gifts of Appreciated Securities


Making a gift to our organization with an appreciated asset such as securities allows you to give more without impacting your cash flow and helps reduce your taxes.
 
For more information on the benefits of gifting appreciated securities, call Judy Goodbody, CFRE, CRTP, HSB Planned Giving Officer at (805) 563-8820, ext. 124 or email jgoodbody@hospiceofsb.org


To learn more about Planned Giving at HSB, visit our website.
 
Support Hospice of Santa Barbara at no cost to you!

Whenever you shop at Amazon, go through AMAZON SMILE.  Simply select "Hospice of Santa Barbara" as your charitable organization and Amazon will donate a portion of your purchase (.5%) to us. Already using Amazon Smile? You can still make HSB your charitable organization by clicking on the name of the charity you're supporting on your Amazon Smile landing page.

 
Thank you for all that you do to support our work! 

It is a remarkable privilege to witness the difference we make for those we serve on a daily basis. It is only through your generosity that we can accomplish all that we do and will do in the future.

Support Groups

Healing through Poetry
Monday Afternoons

Healing of the Loss of an Adult Child
Tuesday Afternoons 
 
Survivors of Suicide
1st and 3rd Thursday 
evenings of the month
 
Widow/Widowers Support Group  
2nd, 4th Monday (evening)
1st, 3rd Thursday (Daytime)

Living with Loss (Pregnancy/Infant Loss)
1 st and 3 rd Monday Evenings 

Healing the Loss of a Loved One
2nd and 4th Tuesday Evenings

Men's Grief & Spirituality
Monday Mornings
10 a.m. -12 p.m.
April 3 - May 8

Mindfulness for Healing
Tuesday Mornings
Feb.21 - April 24

Parenting After Loss (PAL)
Wednesdays
April 5 - May 24

HSB in the Schools
HSB provides free professional bereavement counseling in all local high schools. Please call for more info.
 
All groups are free of charge, but require pre-registration as space is limited. To register, please call (805) 563-8820, ext 110.