Sharsheret
ORGANIZATION DESCRIPTION
Founded in 2001, Sharsheret supports Jewish women and families living with or at risk for breast or ovarian cancer. As the only national Jewish breast and ovarian cancer organization, it strives to address the cancer genetics education gap in the high-risk Jewish community. Its services include mental health counseling; peer support; free genetics education, consultations, and screenings; financial support for non-medical needs; nutrition coaching; and virtual education to support emotional, physical, and spiritual needs across the religious observance and identity spectrum. Nationally it is a lifeline for over 250,000 women and families annually. Since its California office opened in Los Angeles in 2016, it has served over 2,374 people impacted by cancer and reached over 20,000 high-risk local Jews through educational outreach.
FIELD OF INTEREST
grant programs
To support leadership development, restructuring, and expansion of its LA staff, enabling Sharsheret to provide high-quality services to more Jewish clients in LA.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant health and mental health impact on Sharsheret clients in LA and across the nation, clients who are immunocompromised and therefore at high risk. Due to self-isolation from friends and family, they are experiencing extreme levels of loneliness. To address the physical and mental health challenges of women impacted by cancer, Sharsheret social workers and genetic counselors have increased their time on the phone providing mental health support, and Sharsheret began offering a bi-weekly webinar series on a range of topics.