More Than a Safe Space

Chelsea Kline says Cancer Connection is a needed ‘third space’ away from home and work for people facing a cancer diagnosis.

It began with a simple goal: to give people diagnosed with cancer — people facing perhaps the most difficult challenge of their life — someone to talk to.

Now, in its 25th year, Cancer Connection is so much more.

But thinking back to 2000, when founders Jackie Walker and Deb Orgera launched the Northampton-based nonprofit, “their vision was really to make a place for people to come and talk, if they had been diagnosed, or if they were a caregiver,” Executive Director Chelsea Kline said.

That service was called — and still is called — ‘befriending,’ she noted. “That actually evolved out of the Samaritans model, which is a hotline for people in crisis, people that are contemplating ending their lives. That’s where the initial inspiration came from — to have this hotline service for people who were newly diagnosed, who were scared, who were alone and needed some support.

“And now we’re building on our befriender training,” she added. “We’re going to be boosting that and bringing on more befrienders, which we’re really excited about.”

Meanwhile, Cancer Connection has evolved over the years to include support groups for different types of cancer and aspects of the cancer experience, from caregiving to self-care; integrative therapies like massage, acupuncture, reiki, and energy balancing to treat cancer symptoms, boost comfort, and relieve stress; and programs that nourish the body, mind, spirit, and creativity, like Qigong yoga, mindfulness in nature, knitting, music and movement, equine therapy, and more.

And, as noted, these services are available to caregivers in addition to those with a cancer diagnosis, Kline said.

“That’s one of the beautiful things about this organization — they thought about not only the person with the diagnosis, but also their support people. That’s important because there’s a tremendous amount of stress and pressure and worry — so many emotions that come along with being a caregiver for someone. And there are not many resources that are available to them outside of Cancer Connection.”

But it all starts with befriending — letting people know they have someone to talk to, either on the phone or in person.

“Cancer is a scary topic, and it’s not a topic that you can just bring up casually on the playground when you’re picking up your child, or after work, or wherever. So we are that third space for a lot of people.”

“This is a place where they can be understood and speak freely and not worry that someone doesn’t get it or someone doesn’t understand them,” Kline said. “That’s what this place is all about — we really do understand, and we are a place to find strength.”

Maintaining the Mission

All Cancer Connection services are free of charge, Kline told BusinessWest. “That has been the case from the get-go, and we have doggedly maintained that vision.”

The nonprofit is supported through donors, sponsors, and a series of fundraising events, from the annual Harvest Dinner — taking place this week, on Oct. 17 — and a Mother’s Day half-marathon coming up on its 15th year next May.

Support groups in the ‘living room’ at Cancer Connection draw both in-person and remote attendees.

Then there’s the Cancer Connection Thrift Shop on South Street in Northampton, open to the public Wednesday through Saturday. “We have an incredibly generous community — people bring handbags and jewelry and art and clothing and all kinds of amazing things. And then people will show up and purchase these beautiful things. So that’s a huge part of our funding.”

The shop has become more than a fundraising operation, though; it’s also, in many cases, an emotional support for donors.

“We had the managers of the thrift store go through our befriending training because, so often, we have people that are coming with donations that have a lot of emotional connections,” Kline said. “If someone passed away or they’re downsizing, whatever the case, there are a lot of emotions that come with these things, and people want to share their stories, or they have this object and want to take a moment to honor that item when they bring it in.

“I would say that what we offer is filling so many cracks in our community. And I shudder to think what would happen if we weren’t here to offer those things.”

“So our thrift-store managers are really skilled at having those conversations and just being present in some of those hard moments and having that deep compassion,” she added. “That’s really the main thread that flows through everything here at Cancer Connection — a deep and present compassion. It’s remarkable.”

She said part of her job is spreading the message about what happens at Cancer Connection and why it’s an important resource in the community, and the message has been received in myriad ways.

Sue Monahan (left), creator and director of the Mother’s Day Half Marathon, with Tara Brewster, host of Bed In for Cancer Connection.

“I’ve noticed how many people in the community come up with creative ideas of supporting Cancer Connection. Like, we have a fifth-grade class at the Hartsbrook School that created and sold little crafts and other items for their school store, and they raised money for Cancer Connection. The whole class came and presented us with a check and toured the center.”

Meanwhile, an organization called Crippled Old Busted Bikers put on a comedy show to raise funds for Cancer Connection, a drag revue called Camilla’s Extravaganza has taken the nonprofit on as a fundraising beneficiary, and Bed In for Cancer Connection — launched by radio personality Monte Belmonte as Monte’s Camp Out for Cancer Connection, and how hosted by Greenfield Savings Bank’s Tara Brewster — has become a popular annual fundraiser.

Kline is deeply grateful for all that support.

“It’s almost impossible to put into words the impact this organization is having on so many individuals, even if they’re coming just for a support group, and they may not know anybody, and they find they’re able to sit with a group of people and now have friends and connections in the community that they didn’t have before, and they’re not feeling so lonely.”

“I think it would be an incredible hardship on the community if Cancer Connection didn’t exist,” she said. “Massages are expensive. Acupuncture is expensive. And having a place where you can unfurl and not have to watch what you say when you’re in pain, you’re scared, and you’re feeling alone … when we think about the dwindling numbers of church attendance, when belonging to a YMCA costs money, and many of our community centers don’t have as robust attendance as they used to, there are fewer places to share community.

“Cancer is a scary topic, and it’s not a topic that you can just bring up casually on the playground when you’re picking up your child, or after work, or wherever,” she added. “So we are that third space for a lot of people, and that’s really valuable to combat isolation, to build communities, to help people just alleviate the symptoms of their treatment and feel a sense of calm and relaxation and feel that they’re understood. There’s not many places that do what we do.”

Priscilla Touhey prepares to lead a container gardening workshop at Cancer Connection.

Those services even extend to the free wigs Cancer Connection offers, thanks to donations from Visage Salon in downtown salon. “They do a lot of things for people experiencing hair loss, and they donate a lot of beautiful, brand-new wigs to us, for which we’re so grateful,” Kline noted. “We get a lot of donated wigs from other places as well, but they’re one of our main conduits. And it goes such a long way for someone’s self-esteem and confidence if they need to go back to work, or just go to the market, to have a hairstyle that feels comfortable to them.

“So I would say that what we offer is filling so many cracks in our community,” she went on. “And I shudder to think what would happen if we weren’t here to offer those things.”

Personal Connection

Kline’s own connection with the organization dates back about 20 years, when her mother was a participant.

“I was her caregiver at the time, and I was also a single mom. I remember being so relieved that she had a place that she could talk freely and not worry about scaring me or stressing me out or overwhelming me; she could be in a community with other people who really understood.

“My mother, thank God, is still with us,” she added. “She now volunteers at Cancer Connection.”

Kline, who earned a bachelor’s degree in religion and biblical literature at Smith College and a master’s degree in theological studies at Harvard Divinity School, spent several years overseeing leadership and organizational studies at Bay Path University before operating Chelsea Sunday Coaching for four years, a consulting business that helped many nonprofits in transition. In between, she ran for Massachusetts State Senate in 2018, garnering 41% of the vote.

But her interest all along, she said, was in supporting people who are struggling, and alleviating suffering. She found the perfect outlet for both at Cancer Connection.

“We had someone come in for a massage the other day, and we have a little form that they fill out before the treatment and after the treatment,” she explained. “They rated their level of pain, and at the end of it, they felt so much calmer, so much more relaxed, and they felt like their pain had decreased. And that’s just one person. We have maybe six or seven appointments a day over here, just from massage alone.

“So it’s almost impossible to put into words the impact this organization is having on so many individuals, even if they’re coming just for a support group, and they may not know anybody, and they find they’re able to sit with a group of people and now have friends and connections in the community that they didn’t have before, and they’re not feeling so lonely.”

Kline’s only disappointment is not being able to help more people.

“We got a call from someone in Alaska recently, and they said, ‘oh, where’s the Cancer Connection near me?’ And we had to say, ‘sorry, I don’t think there is anything. But you can join us remotely.’

“It kills me that we can’t help everybody,” she went on. “But for what we are doing, I am so grateful to our founders and so grateful to the staff and the board that saw us through COVID, that kept us going. There are so many hands that have kept this organization viable and really stayed true to the mission, helping us offer all these good things. I feel very, very lucky that I get to be a tiny part of it. It’s an awesome place.”