About Care Through Touch Institute (CTI)

Founded in 1983, Care Through Touch Institute (CTI) provides free, trauma-informed massage to unhoused and marginalized communities in San Francisco. CTI meets people where they are—shelters, clinics, drop-in centers, transitional housing, and community spaces—offering short, focused chair massage sessions that relieve physical pain, reduce stress, and affirm human dignity.

For nearly 40 years, CTI has partnered with local organizations, building trust and continuity that allow practitioners to provide consistent, compassionate care. Our trauma-informed approach recognizes that trauma lives in the body as well as the mind. Sessions are grounded in consent, choice, and clear communication, helping clients feel seen, valued, and connected. Even brief sessions provide relief, calm, and a moment of ease amid chronic hardship, isolation, and systemic inequity.

CTI’s mission is to be present with human suffering and promote healing through human connection. We prioritize unconditional respect, presence, and relationship, recognizing the inherent dignity and resilience of every person. Our work integrates skilled bodywork with advocacy, community partnerships, and practitioner training to strengthen holistic well-being, social connection, and equity.

CTI serves unhoused and marginally housed individuals, trauma survivors, older adults, people with chronic pain, and those facing isolation or disconnection. Our clients primarily reside in neighborhoods with high poverty and homelessness, including the Tenderloin and SoMa, and include people often excluded from traditional care.

Through decades of consistent presence, CTI has become a trusted partner in San Francisco’s social service and healthcare landscape, bringing relief, dignity, and human connection directly to those who need it most.