Sarah Axner Gilmore, MSSA, LSW
Program Staff & Hospital Liaison
At The Gathering Place, community is something you feel in conversation, in creativity, and in moments of deep connection. Few embody that spirit more fully than Sarah Axner Gilmore, MSSA, LSW.
Sarah began her journey with TGP in 2023 as a contract mental health clinician facilitating ongoing support groups. She was drawn to the authentic passion of the team and to the powerful opportunity to provide high-quality emotional support services completely free of charge to individuals and families navigating cancer.
Today, as a full-time Program Staff member, Sarah blends evidence-based supportive care with creative and meditative practices that foster healing, resilience, and belonging.
Supporting the Whole Person
Sarah facilitates TGP’s weekly Adults with Cancer Support Group and a monthly group for individuals with metastatic breast cancer. She also provides individual support sessions and develops quarterly educational programming including a recent Mindfulness Immersion Retreat that combined guided meditation, breathwork, slow flow yoga, and collaborative learning.
By integrating education with emotional support, Sarah helps participants gain practical coping tools and confidence to take their next step forward.
Creativity is another cornerstone of her work. From gratitude art and watercolor to pressed flower lanterns, mandala design, journaling, and needle arts, Sarah creates spaces where safe expression leads to meaningful connection.
“Providing opportunities for safe and supported expression and fostering relationships and a sense of community is something unique that TGP programs offer.”
Community in Action
For Sarah, some of the most powerful moments happen inside a circle of chairs or around a table of art supplies.
“The conversation and connection that emerges during support groups and creative arts classes can be magical. People who may never encounter each other otherwise share and learn from one another. To me, this demonstrates community in action.”
In addition to her program role, Sarah serves as TGP’s liaison at University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center. There, she meets with patients and families before or after appointments, chemo infusions, radiation treatments, or even during inpatient stays providing on-the-spot emotional and psychosocial support, connecting individuals to TGP services, completing registrations, and coordinating referrals.
At times, she also provides wig fitting services, offering care and compassion during one of treatment’s most vulnerable moments.
Sarah regularly collaborates with hospital staff, providing education about TGP programs and inviting clinical partners to share expertise with participants on topics such as Integrative Medicine and Pain Management.
Through her leadership, creativity, and compassionate presence, Sarah helps ensure that no one facing cancer feels alone and that community remains at the heart of every step forward.
