SAN FRANCISCO, CA On October 3rd, just one day shy of St. Anthony’s 58th anniversary of serving San Francisco’s poor, St. Anthony’s will opened its LEED (Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design) certified Social Services Center. The new center will enable the historic San Francisco non-profit to serve more people in its Free Medical Clinic, Employment Program and Technology Lab, and Social Work Center, as well as being home to St. Anthony’s Auxiliary Dining Room.
DEDICATION EVENT
The short and sweet building dedication took place between 12 noon and 1:30 pm at 150 Golden Gate in San Francisco, CA, with hors d’oeuvres and beverages provided by sustainably minded food purveyors such as Green’s, Perbacco, Serpentine, Farmer Brown, Alive!, and Numi Tea. Building tours took place after a brief dedication ceremony with local dignitaries and St. Anthony’s program participants serving as key speakers.
BUILDING GREEN
Designed by HKIT architectural firm, the new service center features open and airy waiting rooms with excellent air quality, natural light, regionally harvested and manufactured wood doors, and warm colored, low-VOC painted walls. By committing to the use of low emitting materials, environmentally responsible equipment, and conscientious management of construction waste, St. Anthony’s is leading the wave of high-level environmental responsibility in the non-profit and social services sector.
PROJECT HISTORY
St. Anthony’s former social services building, located at 121 Golden Gate, was housed in a non-reinforced masonry building that was once home to a parking garage. When retrofitting proved to be too costly and rebuilding impossible without a discontinuation of crucial drop-in services during the building’s renovation, St. Anthony’s looked for other options.
The availability of 150 Golden Gate, across the street, gave St. Anthony’s an opportunity to continue its services while creating a healthier, greener, and structurally sound place to serve guests and clients. St. Anthony’s embarked on an unprecedented Capital Campaign to fund the building, which brought a new category of donors from all over the United States. Many of them have, in the process, learned about the services provided by St. Anthony’s, and become donors to the existing programs.
ST. ANTHONY’S AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
The conscious effort towards greater sustainability is an intrinsic part of the system and culture of St. Anthony Foundation. As a Franciscan organization, the tandem roles of environmental responsibility and social responsibility are fostered in a tradition of social justice. In the Tenderloin, where environmental illnesses such as asthma and diabetes are rampant, St. Anthony’s Green social services building is a discernible investment in a healthier environment for San Francisco’s poor.
St. Anthony’s efforts of sustainability are supported from many different avenues. In addition to a Green Service Center, the in-house “green team” constantly assesses internal practices of sustainability, bringing impactful changes in the way the organization recycles, composts, and reuses. Clothing is recycled and redistributed at the Clothing and Housewares Program; Computers are refurbished in the Employment Program Technology Lab; and thousands of pounds of food each week are reclaimed, served, and finally composted in the St. Anthony Dining Room, which has served almost 35 million meals to date.
Low-income San Franciscans will pay for the second disappointing public budget of the year. Last month, the city passed a budget with staggering cuts to health and human services, especially for poor people. The city budget will reduce or close many non-profits serving the poor.