In mid December 2010 the S. Mark Taper Foundation awarded a $10,000 grant to Yo San University to provide partial support for the work that Yo San does at its Being Alive externship site in West Hollywood. Founded in 1989 the S. Mark Taper Foundation is a private family foundation dedicated to enhancing the quality of people’s lives by supporting non-profit organizations and their work in our communities.
Being Alive is an agency that serves the healthcare needs of men and women who are HIV Positive. The Yo San University Community Clinic has provided acupuncture and TCM services at the Being Alive site for more eleven years. This unique program has proven its success through hundreds of patients treated through the program. Because of the strength of the medicines typically taken by HIV positive patients, there are invariably secondary symptoms that appear. Those symptoms typically include one or more of the following: neuropathy, sleep disturbance, gastrointestinal disturbances, loss of appetite, fatigue, anxiety/stress and unspecified pain. Acupuncture has been shown to be effective in providing relief from these symptoms. All services rendered at Being Alive are free of charge to patients, and Yo San University receives no remuneration from Being Alive. Each week approximately 20 treatments are rendered at the site.
Yo San University is grateful to the S. Mark Taper Foundation as well as to Carolyn Leigh, L.Ac, YSU Clinical Supervising Faculty member at the site, and the staff of Being Alive for their excellent work that made this grant possible.
