About Us
Care Through Touch Institute (CTI) was founded in 1983 at the Graduate Theological Union Seminary, where it introduced students to holistic approaches to healing that centered the human body as an essential part of care. In 1993, CTI relocated to San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood and evolved into a massage training program focused on serving people experiencing homelessness.
Over time, CTI shifted from a training-centered model to a primarily service-based organization. Today, CTI operates as a collective of trained massage therapists providing free, trauma-informed chair massage to low-income and unhoused individuals across San Francisco.
Our mission is to be present with human suffering and promote healing through human connection.
Through consent-based, respectful touch, CTI offers physical relief, reduces stress, and affirms dignity for people navigating chronic hardship, isolation, and limited access to care.
We envisions a world shaped by justice, kindness, and compassion—where stigma rooted in poverty, homelessness, racism, age, or gender is erased, and healing, dignity, and hope are available to all.
Our Values
We believe in unconditional love and respect for all people, regardless of age, race, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, substance use, illness, disability, or income.
We honor the inherent dignity and sacredness of every human being.
We are committed to never giving up on people, even when they have been marginalized or abandoned by others.We choose connection over isolation and step into relationships with those who have been alienated by society.
We meet suffering with presence, compassion, and courage.
We recognize the strength and resilience of every person and affirm that healing does not require dependence on us or any system.
We understand health as holistic, encompassing physical, emotional, spiritual, and environmental well-being.
We advocate for integrative, compassionate care and the vital role of healing touch within broader healthcare systems.
We recognize that individual health is inseparable from community well-being, including access to housing, employment, transportation, and safety.
About Our Founder
Mary Ann Finch is the founder of Care Through Touch Institute and a pioneer in embodied, compassionate care. With a background in education, communications, spirituality, movement therapy, and massage, she developed a lifelong commitment to healing that honors the whole person.
In 1983, Mary Ann founded what would become Care Through Touch Institute, initially serving people affected by HIV/AIDS during a time of profound fear and isolation. A formative sabbatical in Calcutta, where she practiced hospice care alongside Mother Teresa, deepened her dedication to serving those most marginalized.
In 1993, Mary Ann formally established Care Through Touch Institute and later moved its work to San Francisco’s Tenderloin, where she designed trauma-informed massage programs for people impacted by poverty, illness, aging, and homelessness. For more than 40 years, she and CTI have grown alongside the community, offering compassionate presence and healing touch that addresses physical, emotional, and spiritual needs.