The MERI Center is founded in the belief that, in a life of both blessings and struggles, a central opportunity for us all is to find meaning and our proper place in the Universe. Within our families and society, a core responsibility is to be of service to each other, helping those we love to face living with consciousness and comfort, and dying with peace. 
 
Building on the traditional strengths of cultures around the world and on the modern medical expertise of UCSF, the MERI Center is committed to making good care for people facing serious illness routine. Although we all wish to live lives as long and as happy as possible, inevitably, a healthy society includes normalizing and humanizing the inevitable processes of dying in our community.
 
To build a healing community, the MERI Center works to support patients facing serious illness, to train family and volunteer caregivers, to promote the competence and openness of professional health care teams, and to bring an openness to how our community sees death via the core domains of adult education imparting knowledge, developing skills, and fostering healthy attitudes.