Today we’d like to introduce you to Julia Forth.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
The Cancer Support Community Los Angeles (CSCLA) is the founding chapter from 1982 of what is now 170+ locations, satellites, and hospital partnerships serving cancer patients and families, including children, with a free-of-charge program of emotional and psychological support. When I joined CSCLA, formerly known as The Wellness Community (TWC), in 1996, I began as a fundraising assistant. I was later promoted to roles in both marketing and program. As the Program Marketing Director, I was in charge of building non-clinical programs, e.g., healthy lifestyle classes, educational workshops, and social activities. Working closely with our founder, Dr. Harold Benjamin, I experienced first-hand the passion and vision upon which our organization is founded; later, as Dr. Mitch Golant’s assistant, who established our Research & Training Institute, I learned how important it is to consistently advocate for psychosocial services as part of quality cancer care. On a personal note, my father died of colon cancer in 1997, one year after I joined the organization. Psychosocial care was not available to my father or my mother in Virginia. As the years passed and my intimacy with this organization grew, I often think back on that first year at TWC and the anguish my mother experienced as my father’s sole caregiver, the depression my father experienced, and how different things might have been if our family had had access to the services CSCLA offers — the belief that everyone should have access to psychosocial support during cancer has been the ballast to my work at CSCLA.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Ensuring that all of those impacted by cancer who need emotional and psychological support in Los Angeles are aware of CSCLA’s free services is a challenge. Being part of a small, grassroots organization with a big, impactful mission means we are always looking for creative ways to do our best for our diverse community. Having a dedicated team helps! I am grateful for them and for my colleagues at the three other CSCs in Southern CA, namely, CSC Greater San Gabriel Valley, CSC Valley Ventura, Santa Barbara, and CSC South Bay. Los Angeles is a unique and complex county and city, and it holds a broad range of cultures. It is important to us at CSCLA that we tend to the needs of all, in particular the under-resourced. Through our CSCLA program entitled HEART: Healing Equitably through Action, Resilience & Teamwork, we have made cultural sensitivity a focus of our organization’s strategic plan and welcome collaborations and partnerships with other grassroots organizations and hospital and medical systems.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am so proud that our organization has not charged a penny for its services for cancer patients and families since its founding in 1982. Not only have we been free of charge to those who are struggling with a traumatic, life-threatening, and life-changing illness, but we offer a place where people can find strength and hope. CSCLA’s depth and breadth of services, as well as its professional, evidence-based programming, sets it apart from others; at the same time, we cannot do what we do alone and are intent on collaborating and partnering with other nonprofits in this space. CSCLA offers over twenty support groups, over 800 counseling sessions per year, a robust child, teen, and family program, seventy workshops with medical professionals, and social activities. We also have specialized programs, such as Open to Options, a program that helps patients determine what questions to ask their doctors; a Helpline; a Research and Training Institute; and a Policy Institute. Cancer is complicated, and we must approach it from a wholistic perspective in order to serve people effectively.
How do you think about luck?
Being recommended for a job at the Cancer Support Community twenty-eight years ago was a singular piece of luck for me. Throughout my work life at Cancer Support Community, I have progressively learned more and more about the various components of an effective nonprofit, and this real-world education has enhanced this initial lucky break!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.cancersupportla.org
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cancersupportla
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CancerSupportLA
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cancersupportla/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@cancersupportcsc/videos
Image Credits
Krista Kennell
Aaron Rapoport
