Crossroads4Hope

Headquartered in new jersey, our organization has been an independent 501(c)(3) corporation since its inception delivering more than 128,000 hours of services at no charge, to more than 20,000 individuals. At Crossroads4hope, three things are essential: ensuring we deliver what patients and families need today to be able to take control of their health and care; second, keeping an eye on the future and the innovation and resources needed for us to realize our promise to the community to take on the cancer journey with all those who are affected, when and where they need us most; and third, ensuring the vision of our founder's remain in the forefront of our thinking, that social and emotional support is an essential part of care and should be available to all people facing cancer patients, caregivers, family, and loved ones, survivors, and the bereaved regardless of where they receive their care, or where they call home, and always at no charge to individuals.as experts in psychosocial support and patient activation, we move people through a health crisis caused by cancer to become active with the behaviors that help them take control of their health and care. Led by the profession of social work, our team includes other mental health and allied health professionals, including child life specialists, registered dietitians, public health professionals, and health and wellness instructors. Our "members" include previvors, cancer patients, survivors, caregivers, family members, friends, and loved ones, regardless of age, type of cancer, stage or place of treatment, race, ethnicity, country of origin/citizenship, language, sexual orientation, insurance, or veteran status. Programs are delivered in person at our bedminster location, at partner organizations, and virtually. Programs fall under the following categories: individual and group support navigation and referrals, including to address basic needs such as food and housing insecurity, financial conditions, transportation, and childcare. Decision support educational and nutrition workshops mind body classes activities that build social connections financial assistance for families facing pediatric cancer or single women with cancer. Families coping with pediatric cancer single women affected by cancer mygo2support, a digital program that provides 24/7 direct-to-mobile, personalized resources and support across the entire cancer journey for patients and their loved ones without ever having to download an app.the challenges healthcare continues to experience, including staffing shortages and downward pressures on reimbursements, have reduced available resources for people affected by cancer. Crossroads4hope continues to experience increased demand for our services and will include virtual programming as a standard delivery method.we have been conscious of our approach to transforming our organization and the cancer experience, understanding that technology would be required to enable us to scale our reach, especially within communities that lack access to care, support, and resources. Today, people are connecting to us from across new jersey, 44 states, and four countries. Our public health teams are embedding themselves into low-income and marginalized communities to address the burden of cancer on the community's terms. Since 2013, we have been actively listening and learning from our members across diverse backgrounds to round out our research on the cancer experience in vulnerable communities. As a result, we developed a unique approach to outreach rooted in social work, implemented by public health, and supported by child life to ensure that vulnerable individuals, families, and communities have access to relevant support, tools, and resources to transform the cancer experience. We are scaling our health champion program and training lay community members who are often the first to become aware of someone coping with cancer in their community. They learn what they can do and say and how to refer people to Crossroads4hope. We are also transferring knowledge on how to talk with a doctor about treatment options, including clinical trials. Individuals from churches, libraries, social service agencies, and other non-profit organizations and the broader community, as well as within companies, are signing up to become champions. By partnering with Crossroads4hope, they are making it possible for us to extend the reach of our resources in relevant ways that address the layers of complicity that create barriers to accessing timely care, support, and resources.