Heart to Heart Touch 2019 Community Service Grant

Posted:Wednesday, August 19, 2020

The Massage Therapy Foundation (MTF) is pleased to have awarded Heart to Heart Touch, of Chattanooga, TN, with a 2019 MTF Community Service Grant for their Compassionate Touch for Homeless at End of Life project. This grant is sponsored by a gift from Biotone. Heart to Heart Touch is one of five 2019 MTF Community Service Grant recipients which were originally announced in September of 2019 and which are currently ongoing.

The total amount awarded is $5,000. The Compassionate Touch for the Homeless at End of Life project trains Licensed Massage Therapists and volunteers/staff of Welcome Home, a residential care facility for the terminally ill homeless. Volunteers and staff  receive modified Heart to Heart Touch Method: End of Life Care classes and Licensed Massage Therapists receive a modified Pain and Palliative Care Massage class. Both of these classes are modified to address the specific needs of the homeless, who are often subjected to inappropriate, even violent touch.

Welcome Home residents then receive free therapeutic massage using these methods, creating respite from their pain and anxiety and promoting a sense of self-worth. The project’s goal is to help improve resident’s overall emotional well-being through touch.