Healing Touch, Human Connection
Free, trauma-informed massage for unhoused and marginalized communities in San Francisco. Restoring dignity, relieving stress, and fostering connection—one session at a time.
Compassionate, Trauma-Informed Massage
Care Through Touch Institute provides free, trauma-informed massage to individuals often excluded from care. Our practitioners bring short, focused chair massage directly to shelters, clinics, drop-in centers, and community spaces.
Each session supports physical relief, reduces stress, and affirms dignity for people experiencing chronic hardship, isolation, or limited access to healthcare
Services are offered with no barriers to care, including no requirements for identification, insurance, or sobriety.
We serve in the spirit of compassion, non-judgment, and love.
Serving Communities Often Overlooked
CTI works with unhoused and marginally housed individuals, trauma survivors, older adults, people living with chronic pain, and those facing isolation. Our long-term presence in neighborhoods like the Tenderloin and SoMa allows us to build trust, meet people where they are, and create meaningful connections.
Leading Trauma-Informed Care for Over 40 Years
Founded in 1983, CTI has been a pioneer in trauma-informed massage, long before the term became widely used. We provide relationship-based care that emphasizes presence, consent, and continuity. Our therapists are trained to respond with skill, compassion, and cultural awareness, creating safe spaces for healing. CTI’s work also includes advocacy, training, and supporting other organizations to implement trauma-informed care in their communities.
Join Our Mission
Bring healing touch to those who need it most. As a CTI volunteer, you provide trauma-informed massage, build meaningful connections, and make a lasting impact in the lives of unhoused and marginalized community members. Every session you offer, every moment of care, and every relationship you help nurture makes a real difference.
Honoring 40 Years of Service
For 40 years CTI has offered free trauma-informed massage to the unhoused and marginally housed in San Francisco, creating moments of calm, dignity, and connection.
We provided more than 60,000 trauma-informed massage sessions, each one offering a moment of calm, dignity, and grounding in the midst of daily hardship.
We trained more than 1,000 volunteer massage therapists in CTI’s unique trauma-informed methods, long before “trauma-informed” became a widely used term.
We grew from humble beginnings to 12 partner sites that offered free weekly massage at our pre-pandemic peak.
Healing Through Touch: Care Through Touch Institute in Action
See how our volunteers make a meaningful difference—one touch, one moment, one life at a time.
How Your Support Matters
A small donation creates a big impact. Your support helps provide free massage to unhoused and marginalized communities, train trauma-informed practitioners, sustain volunteers, and expand CTI’s reach to new neighborhoods.