A couple of days ago, I was speaking on the phone with someone who is interested in becoming a regular volunteer with us: “I really want to make a difference!” he said. I  am one very lucky person to be in this position of individual volunteer coordinator, because as wonderful as that single statement is I hear versions of it again and again as folks become volunteers!! And like many of us I imagine, I hear statements like “I just don’t know what the world is coming too!” I hear versions of this often, too. And at times, I speak versions of it myself. I am so fortunate to meet so many people who will do whatever they can to really make a difference, no matter “what the world is coming to.” When one is around a community of people who feel so motivated and caring, you just can’t help but feel hopeful and caring, no matter what the odds. Odds are too that when we want to make a difference for the better in the lives of many, that’s going to make a healing and wonderful difference to those making an effort to serve. In these times of such uncertainty and struggle, my heart goes out to each and every volunteer for sharing yourselves in service here at St. Anthony Foundation. Viva la difference, indeed!

Shaun Osburn dressed as a banana

The inaugural entry of this blog was posted by one Doug Huggala on October 7, 2007. Commemorating St. Anthony’s 57th anniversary, the post is a meditation on why we do the work we do.

We’re now in the midst of celebrating our 60th year of service. For the last three years, the blog has served as a forum for further explorations of what inspires and motivates our work in the Tenderloin, for spreading the word about news and events within the Foundation, for showcasing the contributions of our indispensable volunteers, for discussing the issues and policies that affect the lives of our guests, and for bringing the far-flung and highly eclectic St. Anthony’s community together online. Since its inception, this blog has been administered with care by the mysterious Mr. Huggala, whose real name is Shaun Osburn and whose last day as Senior Communications Associate after four and a half years of hard work is this Tuesday.

Shaun has been key to growing St. Anthony’s online presence, and evidence of his professionalism, commitment to worthy causes, and serious Photoshop chops can be found throughout this website and blog. We will certainly miss having Shaun as our webmaster, but not as much as we’ll miss having him as a co-worker, team member, and friend. Thank you, Shaun, and best of luck!

Last month we announced that Dr. Ana Valdes, Medical Director of St. Anthony’s Clinic, was a finalist for a Healthcare Hero Award. It’s high time to announce that she won.

The San Francisco Business Times launched the new awards to honor professionals who go above and beyond to make the Bay Area healthier by delivering quality care, advocating for patients, innovating new technology or educating the community about health issues.

Dr. Ana was recognized for increasing healthcare access to the underserved. Interestingly enough, one of her achievements that most interested her healthcare peers was synchronizing St. Anthony’s electronic medical records with the coding system at San Francisco General Hospital. This made St. Anthony’s the city’s first low-income clinic to do so. It sounds technical, but coordinating with SF General means that all the doctors who serve a low-income patient have the same information. A more complete history means better care and more possibility for progress.

The magazine also cited the brand new breast health program Dr. Ana has started in the Clinic, based on an outreach model she created for diabetes patients and later for asthma patients. All three programs help patients who have a hard time keeping up with their healthcare come into the Clinic, check on progress, and make a plan for managing disease. Read the rest of this entry »

I haven’t taken a poll recently, but I feel confident that the most popular excuse for not exercising has to be lack of time. People tend to think that if they can’t spare 45-90 minutes a day to exercise, it’s just not worth it. However, current research indicates that even small blocks of time dedicated to some form of physical activity can result in significant health benefits.

British Medical Journal The Lancet published an article this week on the relative health benefits of daily low (15 min. per day), moderate (30 min. per day), and high (45 min per day) volume of exercise. Results showed that even those in the low volume group (exercising an average of 92 minutes per week, or 15 minutes per day) “had a 14% reduced risk of all-cause mortality, and had a 3 year longer life expectancy.”

Even low levels of activity, can reduce blood pressure, and improve cardiovascular fitness and overall health. The Walking Group at St. Anthony’s Free Medical Clinic has experienced the benefits of low to moderate intensity exercise first hand. Every Friday at 10:00 a.m. the Walking Group, led by Carolina Flamenco, convenes at the Clinic and heads out for a 60-90 minute walk. These walks provide participants, many of whom are diabetic, not only with much-needed exercise and stress relief, but also with a chance to socialize in a relaxed environment, a chance to get out of the neighborhood and see other parts of the city, and to reconnect with the natural environment in the city’s parks.

Read the rest of this entry »

Pictured: Two St. Anthony's advocates at the Capitol in Sacramento.

In June, advocates from St. Anthony’s traveled to Sacramento to testify on behalf of AB 828 (Swanson). AB 828, also known as the Nutritional Assistance for Families Act, would lift the lifetime ban on CalFresh (the new name for California’s “food stamp” program) assistance for people with prior drug felony convictions.

California is one of a handful of states that has opted in to the federal ban on food stamp benefits for people with drug related felony convictions that have occurred after 1996.  Drug related felonies are the only type of felony convictions that disqualify a person from receiving CalFresh benefits.

Tomorrow, August 17, we will travel to Sacramento again to meet with state Senators to talk to them about the importance of AB 828.   Advocates who are participants in St. Anthony’s drug and alcohol rehab program, the Father Alfred Center are coming to Sacramento to tell legislators that we believe that CalFresh benefits are critical for successful community re-entry and economic self-sufficiency. Denied these benefits, individuals who have already paid their debt to society are unable to secure nutritious food for their families.

Want to join us?  You don’t have to trek to Sacramento to make your voice heard!  Click here to sign an online petition in support of AB 828.  We currently have 611 signatures.  We’d love to be able to get up to 828!  Please sign the petition and share it with your friends.

Franciscan values Part 1: We celebrate the wonder of life and the beauty of creation.

The first question that comes to my mind is How does this apply to our work here at St. Anthony’s Drug and Alcohol recovery program, the Father Alfred Center? On the surface these concepts seem ethereal and elusive. Although it’s hard to find quantitative or empirical evidence for wonder and beauty, they are integral to what we do.

Celebration for the wonder of life is best recognizable to me when I am paying attention to the little things.  It could be a smile, an unseen act of kindness, or the sun shining on the city during my morning commute.  It’s about the tiny miracles that take place around us every day, that are so easy to miss among the chaotic circumstances of life.

I believe it is vital to our work to keep an eye out for this beauty of creation that permeates our world.  Spiritually speaking it is the mana that sustains us through the desert.  It heals us when we are hurt,  sees us safely to the other side of that which tests us, and reminds us that we are not alone.

Our work can be mentally, physically and spiritually demanding.  It is necessary that we replenish ourselves in order to continue that work.  Celebration of the wonder of life, and the beauty of creation is about gratitude for all that we’ve been blessed with; especially the little things.

The Tenderloin is the most densely populated neighborhood in San Francisco by a long shot, with nearly 58,000 residents per square mile, compared to a rate of 16,000 per square mile citywide. Population density is greater in the Tenderloin’s fifty square blocks than in New York City.

In a neighborhood this crowded, the pleasures of taking a quick stroll through a garden only become more apparent. That’s what a few of us discovered today when we took a detour after lunch to explore the Tenderloin National Forest, an urban garden in a narrow alley on Ellis between Hyde and Leavenworth. (Thanks for the heads up, Dolores!).

The Tenderloin National Forest has been an ongoing project of the gallery and “non-profit artist-run multidisciplinary arts organization” the Luggage Store, whose artistic directors decided to transform Cohen Alley, long plagued by litter, loitering, and open-air drug activity, into a garden with natural vegetation, a modest pond with real fish, and murals on the walls. It also serves as a community events space.

And it provides those living and working in the neighborhood with a place to while away a short lunch break (the gates are often open mid-day when the gardeners are working), and a chance to admire the uncommon sight of greenery in the Tenderloin. It’s well worth seeking out: a forest in the TL as unique as the neighborhood itself.a

The Tech Lab is excited about our upcoming Tech Fair on August 27th.  On this 4th Saturday in August from 10am to 2pm the Tech Lab will be offering free computer repair thanks to Reliatech.  In addition to the computer repair, classes will be offered on “Raising Kids in the Digital Age” (10:00am), “Internet Safety and Security” (11:00am), and “What to Look for When Purchasing a Computer” (12:00pm).  Please register for these classes or for computer repair by calling the front desk at (415) 592-2766.  We look forward to a fun and productive day.  Hope to see you all there.

St. Anthony’s Dining Room, also called the miracle on Jones Street, is the only free meal program in the city of San Francisco that serves a warm meal 365 days a year.  At almost 3,000 meals per day, we serve over 1 million meals per year. For many, the Dining Room is their main source of food. Some of our guests have shelter, some homeless, some have families, some are all alone. Some are employed, some not. Some have a college degree, some never finished grade school. But the thing that all of these people have in common is their need for a meal. And that is our job. To provide all those in need, regardless of their life situations, with a warm meal that was made and served with love. And much of what makes this all possible are the thousands of volunteers that give their time to serve. We have almost 500 regular volunteers (some of which have been serving here for over 25 years!), and almost 10,000 people who volunteer with their school, work, or church.

Sean Chester, a summer intern who spent a lot of time volunteering in the Dining Room as well as some of St. Anthony’s other programs, remembers “my work in the Dining Room included being a bus boy, serving food, directing servers, and eating food. Among all the work and action, I made an infinite amount of friends that inspire me, believe in me, and respect me. I soaked up the experience, embraced the memories, and had such an amazing time.” Theresa Martin, another intern who spent one day/week volunteering in the Dining Room said “The relationships I’ve formed with the guests in the Dining Room, the volunteers and guys from the [Fr. Alfred Center, St. Anthony’s Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Program], and the other interns have been awesome. I feel like I have been welcomed into the community at St. Anthony’s and become a part of the family that it is. For that, I am grateful.” Much like Sean and Theresa, our volunteers often get more out of the experience than they gave. They find themselves embraced by the community here at St. Anthony’s, and quickly feel like they are part of the family.

So we would like to thank all of our volunteers, whether you have been here once or one thousand times. Your work has left a lasting mark on our Dining Room and the thousands of guests who call it their home.

If you or your group (school, company, church, club, etc.) are interested in volunteering, click here.

On August 2, 2011, President Obama signed the Budget Control Act of 2011. This legislation allows the country to raise its borrowing limit and makes significant cuts to federal spending. The legislation sets a spending cap, which enacts a total of $1 trillion in spending cuts over the next ten years. These cuts would go into effect starting October 1, 2011, and the cuts are spread evenly among defense and non-defense programs.  Social service programs that could be affected include: Shelter plus Care, Emergency Shelter Grants, Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS, Section 8, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Americorps, WIC, the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, The Emergency Food Assistance Program, Ryan White HIV/AIDS programs, and Social Services Block Grant programs.

So-called “entitlement” programs like Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, Unemployment Insurance, Veterans Compensation, TANF (welfare), and SNAP (food stamps) are exempt from cuts under the spending cap, however, they’re fair game for cuts under the new twelve-member “Congressional Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction” (commonly referred to as the “supercommittee”). The supercommittee may also suggest tax reform measures as a deficit reduction strategy.

If the supercommittee doesn’t come up with a plan that achieves an additional $1.2 trillion in deficit solutions, or if the committee’s plan is rejected by Congress or the President, automatic trigger cuts of an additional $1.2 trillion to discretionary spending will go into effect in January 2013, with cuts spread evenly between defense and non-defense programs.

At the local and state levels, we’ve already seen drastic cuts to health and social service programs since the recession began.  San Francisco has lost homeless shelter beds, drop-in centers, and substance abuse treatment and mental health programs.  California has reduced SSI grants by $77/month, has eliminated dental care and Adult Day Health Care as Medi-Cal benefits, has instituted co-pays for Medi-Cal services, and has reduced CalWORKs grants for low-income families.

As House minority leader, our Congressional representative, Nancy Pelosi, will choose three members of the 12-member supercommittee.  She has made a public statement that her supercommittee appointees will protect funding for entitlement programs like Medicaid and Social Security.

What principles do you believe should guide the “supercommittee” as they try to come up with a $1.2 trillion debt relief package?  Should programs that help low-income Americans be held harmless?  Should tax reform be part of the budget-balancing package?  How would you be affected by potential cuts to any of the programs listed above? Please leave a comment to this post and let us know what you think. We will be contacting Representative Pelosi to share our views about the deficit reduction plan with her, and we will forward your comments on to her.