“For many San Franciscans, it’s a scary place that you rush through to get somewhere else – or avoid altogether. But to 20 anthropology students at San Francisco State University, the forlorn U.N. Plaza has proved as rich a field study as any faraway, exotic land.”
The Fed seems to have gotten a much needed sense of affirmation with the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report. At first glance it suggests that irrespective of the critical stance which scores of economists poured when the market was flooded with cheap credit – a la interest rate cuts – the case of rising price fever seems to be moderating its temperature, uh at a fleeting glance that is. The Fed, adding to their trophy display this report, cooled inflation expectations – which are still pretty high at 3.1 percent to 3.4 percent – and made rounds to convince the markets that they were fully in control of the herd and would guide the economy through the periods of no growth – well basically no growth unless meager expectations of 0.3 percent to 1.2 percent of GDP increases are considered growth – and high public inflationary expectations.
Mmmm, that jetsetting eggplant in Jen’s last post does look delicious. As she points out though, good produce like this is a hard that in the Tenderloin. Save for the Farmer’s Market and a handful of small bodegas, our neighbors have very few options when it comes to nutritious food options.
What’s more, low-income families in neighborhoods like the Tenderloin actually pay more for groceries and other basic necessities than higher-income households. According to a recent Brooking Institution study, millions of low-income consumers in metropolitan areas like San Francisco pay higher prices for things like household items, financial services, and groceries. These extra costs often add up to thousands of dollars unnecessarily spent by lower-income families each year.
It’s no wonder that the majority of Tenderloin households–56%–don’t earn what the United Way defines as a sustainable income: enough to cover the cost of rent, food, child care, healthcare, transportation, and other necessities. Because the cost of living in poor neighborhoods like the Tenderloin is actually higher. In fact, as the Brookings study points out, reducing the cost of living for lower income families by just one percent would add up to over $6.5 billion in new spending power for low-income families across the country.
While I’m no resident economist, it seems counterintuitive that our poorest neighbors should pay the most for basic necessities. And this is why St. Anthony’s makes sense. We can’t necessarily lower the cost of living in the Tenderloin, but we do help ease the burden for poor working families by connecting them with free resources like food, clothing and healthcare–things that would otherwise be out of reach for so many of our poor and homeless neighbors.
Fast food sounds really good today. It might be that counter productive part of my brain working on overdrive talk me out of my renewed commitment to the gym. Or it’s that I am feeling a bit lazy, and don’t feel like washing and chopping vegetables for something healthier. There really is not much of an excuse now that I have discovered my local produce markets, which unlike big grocery stores, allow me the luxury of healthy veggies and fruit with out breaking the bank (as well as the added perks of supporting smaller family farms, local businesses, and the satisfaction of being a conscious consumer).
Fast food is cheap, easily accessible, and takes no kitchen to prepare. In our Tenderloin community poor nutrition is a huge concern. The majority of SROs don’t have refrigerators to store perishable fruits and vegetables. Using microwaves and hot plates limits those residents to foods that have little nutritional value, high fat content, and are directly linked to health concerns such as diabetes and obesity.
The Civic Center Farmer’s market brings affordable produce to the Tenderloin twice a week. It is an incredible asset in a community where on every corner there is liquor store, yet there is no grocery store in the neighborhood. We need to keep these valuable resources in our neighborhood by maintaining an affordable rate for booths, and thereby passing an affordable price on to consumers. Programs such as St. Anthony Dining Room and St. Anthony Free Medical Clinic also offer nutritional food, emergency food programs, and education for parents on feasible ways to make the best nutritional choices for their families.
Housing is a serious issue to St. Anthony’s, and with the looming specter of Proposition 98, housing is about to get even more serious and controversial. Many of our guests are homeless, while others struggle every day just to stay housed. Myriad economic forces are at work that can inhibit someone’s ability to remain housed. Foreclosures and bankruptcies hit hard when economic times are tough. When the economy is booming—and sometimes even when it’s not—the rental market becomes tight. This is especially true in San Francisco, where people from all over the world, drawn by the beauty and the opportunity, flock here and compete for scarce housing.
We receive calls every day from people who are subject to these forces and are having trouble making their rental payments or securing enough money for a deposit. Many of them are disabled or elderly, without any other resources. Others are single mothers or are among the working poor.
Our programs work diligently to help these individuals, but Proposition 98 will undermine these efforts. Thinly disguised as an effort to protect property rights by limiting eminent domain, Proposition 98 will also eliminate rent control, a crucial regulation that especially protects the poor and elderly. Without rent control, even the most vulnerable will be subject to rental increases relative to the constant bidding wars that define San Francisco’s rental market. Higher rents will cause more people to compete for the limited rental assistance funding available. For those who don’t make the cut, San Francisco might see more homeless enter the streets in the coming years if Proposition 98 passes.
St. Anthony Foundation asks you to help protect our elderly and poor brothers and sisters in San Francisco. Join Governor Schwarzenegger, Senator Feinstein, Senator Boxer, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and dozens of other public officials, chambers of commerce, advocacy groups and organizations in opposition to Proposition 98 in June’s election.
Here are some helpful links about Proposition 98:
San Francisco officials are planning to install “homeless parking meters” designed to deter panhandlers and their benefactors alike. Ten old and refurbished parking meters, painted bright orange, will be placed in high traffic and tourist areas well known for panhandling. Change deposited in the meters will be divided amongst local non-profit charities.
“The reason people are panhandling is because there’s a market for panhandling,” Mayor Gavin Newsom was quoted as saying.
Critics are sceptical of this plan, claiming that non-profits will see very little of the money after it’s been processed by the city. Some critics add that this will make life ever harder for the poor and homeless of San Francisco.
“It’s not fair for the government to create this incredible level of poverty and then turn around to the rest of the community and say, ‘Harden your hearts and give the money to us,’” Paul Boden, director of the Western Regional Advocacy Project, told the San Francisco Chronicle.
The line for lunch at St. Anthony Dining Room begins gathering an hour or two before we open. Every ten feet along the line, there’s a person in a St. Anthony jacket or tee shirt: Client Safety Services. Their job is to regulate the flow of the line. They welcome guests. They share information about services the guests can find, both within St. Anthony’s and through other agencies. They also diffuse any conflict that may be growing among hungry people with various problems and varying social skills. Marginalized people don’t always know how to manage emotions and misunderstandings.
Most of the time, you’d never know that conflict had anything to do with their work. CSS staff pass the time with the people on their part of the line, reviewing sports events and comparing players. They learn people’s names quickly and ask the guests, by name, how they are. As I’ve passed by on my way to the office, I’ve heard guests talking to CSS staff about their health and their job searches, their families and their spirits. All while the staff person keeps on eye on the line. People have actually told me that they eat at St. Anthony’s because our CSS staff are so respectful.
CSS employees usually arrive with a background in security. At St. Anthony’s they get training in de-escalation. Monthly updates prepare them to talk with guests about changes in services and upcoming events. Some CSS people also work at shelters and other services; they are committed to low-income people. Treating guests with dignity and respect is part of their mission, too.
“The gap between rich and poor in many states has broadened at a quickening pace since the last U.S. recession, which could make it difficult for low-income families to weather the current economic downturn, according to a report issued Wednesday.”
While surfing the internet, watching the tube, flipping through the paper, scanning bus and BART advertising, the message is clear: green is here, and here to stay. What used to be hippie babbling of green house gases and global warming is taking a serious tone having everyone hopping on the eco-friendly, sustainable, organically made, no-emissions bandwagon.
Now I don’t usually think of St. Anthony’s as an environmental agency, as a conservation focused non-profit, but looking around lately I might change my tune. Today I caught myself in what felt like a karmically charged moral dilemma between tossing my apple core in the garbage or making the 15-foot journey to do the responsible thing and compost it. Of course I composted it, it comes as second nature now. It is an institutionalized behavior; recycle and compost are the first options, then if you must, in the garbage it goes.
The mantra goes beyond our office work, and this sustainable ideology guides our direct-service protocol as well. The Dining Room composts or recycles 70% of its waste, and our new building will be the first direct social service organization to have a green building. It is reassuring to know that even in the health and human services work that St. Anthony Foundation is dedicated to, we remain conscious and pro-active in our efforts to keep a healthy city and environment for everyone.
A closet full of clothes and not a thing to wear. That’s how I feel sometimes when getting ready to start the day. I can’t say I dress well, or that I have any semblance of fashion, but I know what I like and it works for me. I have my “work” clothes and my “street” clothes, My “gym” clothes and my “bedtime” clothes, my “lounge around the house and do nothing” clothes and my “I really need to do laundry” clothes. Sometimes I make three or four costumes changes a day.
And still I have “nothing to wear”.
Then I think of how many of my friends and acquaintances in The Tenderloin only have one change of clothes. Doing laundry is often not an option and neither is carrying around bags of dirty clothes. Many homeless San Franciscans simply wear clothing until it wears off their bodies.
So I take those clothes that no longer suit me and give them St. Anthony Foundation’s Clothing Program or St. Vincent De Paul’s Vincentian Help Desk. I feel environmentally responsible in that my clothes will be worn by someone who needs them, and won’t be taking up space in a landfill somewhere. No longer a fashion victim, my poor sense of style, weight gain and sweaters I received as Christmas presents now place me in league with philanthropists and environmentalists alike! All by giving these gently used garments that I dismissed as “nothing” a second chance.