… and so do the opportunities for advocacy!

Today is the big day — the day that the Senate begins debate on its version of health care reform legislation.  Regular blog readers may recall that the House of Representatives passed HR 3692, the Affordable Healthcare for America Act, on November 7.   Now, the ball is in the Senate’s court, and their debate has begun!

The Senate’s version of healthcare reform legislation is called the Patient Protection and Affordable Healthcare Act.   The Senate must reach 60 votes in order to pass this legislation.  Sticking points include the “public option“, health care affordability for people with very low incomes, an employer responsibility provision, and the inclusion of immigrants.

If you’d like to tell your Senator what you think is important in health care reform legislation, visit the Website of Network: A Catholic social justice lobby.  They have an easy-to-use form that makes it simple to contact your Senators about health care reform.

Craig Newmark just visited us at the St. Anthony Dining Room. What a gracious fellow. We talked about the digital divide and how to get more people on line so they can get jobs.  As Craig left the Dining Room, someone extented their hand to him an said “Are you Craig from Craigslist? I got my last job from Craigslist. Actually, I got my last 5 or 6 jobs from Craigslist.”  We are trying to make that happen at the Tenderloin Tech Lab with Network Ministries, and Craig is obviously making that happen on his end.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA The sound of revving engines will be a call to start carving turkeys on Wednesday, November 25th, 2009 when the Hells Angels come to St. Anthony Dining Room to help out for one of St. Anthony’s biggest days of the year. And on Thanksgiving Thursday the historic nonprofit will serve more than 3,500 turkey dinners to the poor and homeless; even Craigslist founder Craig Newmark is stopping by to lend a hand.

“With the economy in the state it has been the last 2 years, we anticipate many more people will be spending Thanksgiving at St. Anthony’s,” noted St. Anthony’s Interim Executive Director Linda Pasquinucci. “We are very thankful that more volunteers and donors are coming through the doors as well, because we have never needed them more.”

In conjunction, St. Anthony’s 22nd annual curbside donation drive is kicking off on Saturday November 21st at 9am, where clean, cared-for warm clothing, canned or dried bulk foods, and monetary donations can be dropped off to St. Anthony’s “donation valets”. As more and more people turn to the 59-year old non-profit for basic necessities as a result of the current economic crisis, the support from everyday citizens is needed.

For 59 years St. Anthony Foundation has provided free, life sustaining support for the poor and homeless. St. Anthony Foundation’s programs help heal individuals and families by providing a gateway to solutions to poverty, including a Dining Room which serves 2,600 meals every day, an Employment Program/ Technology Lab, Drug and Alcohol Recovery Program, and a Free Medical Clinic. St. Anthony Foundation does not accept any federal, state, or local government money, and is entirely funded by private donations.

What’s cooking this week at St. Anthony Dining Room!

Monday November 23 - Fettucini Alfredo

With Chicken baked in cream sauce.

Tuesday November 24 - Meditarranean Orzo

Chicken, caper, and lemon

Wednesday November 25 – Pasta Marinara

Tangy vegetarian tomato sauce tossed with pasta and topped with Parmesan cheese.

Thursday, November 26 – Thanksgiving Day Turkey Dinner

Mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, and pumpking pie.

Friday November 27 – Pork Chili

With pinto beans simmered in chili sauce.

Saturday November 28 – Turkey a la King

Simmered in cream sauce and served over noodles.

Sunday November 29 – Chicken Cacciatore

Slow cooked with tomato mushroom and basil.

Check back for weekly installments of On The Menu!

AS UNEMPLOYMENT SOARS, MORE GO HUNGRY
ST. ANTHONY’S HOSTS 22ND ANNUAL CURBSIDE DRIVE TO HELP MEET THE NEED FOR SAN FRANCISCO

With the unemployment rate at its highest rate since 1983, organizations like St. Anthony’s have become critical in helping everyday people meeting their needs of basics such as food, warm clothing, and medical care.

To help meet the need, St. Anthony’s is preparing for its 22nd anniversary of St. Anthony’s Curbside Holiday Drive. St. Anthony Foundation staff and volunteers, wearing easily identifiable red jackets, will take delivery of food, clothing, and monetary donations at curbside, so donors won’t even have to leave their cars. Donated items are distributed free of charge to San Francisco’s most needy residents.

“We have 35% more people coming for emergency boxes and 60% more people coming to our clothing program than we did a year ago. And we continue to be amazed and heartened by the generosity of those with even a little extra stepping up to help meet the need,” noted St. Anthony Foundation Executive Director Linda Pasquinucci.

St. Anthony Foundation’s programs help heal individuals and families by providing a gateway for solutions to poverty, including a Dining Room which serves 2600 meals every day, a free clothing program, a technology lab,  residential drug and alcohol recovery program, and a free medical clinic. St. Anthony Foundation does not accept any federal, state, or local government money for its programs, and is entirely funded by private donations. (more…)

The savory aromas gathering for days; the friends and relatives visiting, the Macy’s Parade and Football on TV … the contentedly full belly and turkey enhanced deep sleep; and the leftovers! Ah the leftovers, stuffing and turkey soup, potatoes, pies, and cranberry sauce … I’ve been among the fortunate, for many years of my lifetime, to expect and enjoy this description of late November.

Unfortunately, there have always been those who are not able to count on such celebrations & fare. And as we know, that number–not only for Holiday meals but for any meal, is dramatically on the rise. Just this past Tues, Nov. 17th, the PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer featured a story “More Americans Facing Hunger.” The US Dept of Agriculture has issued new findings of a 14.6% increase in the number of Americans having trouble putting enough food on the table between 2007 and 2008: that’s 50 million people, one in every 7 American households!

Sadly, hunger is nothing new. St. Anthony Dining Room has been serving meals for almost 60 years, but the increase in numbers of those being served is a very strong and visible call for renewed efforts to address the shortfall in resources and in access to them. The wonderful benefactors of St. Anthony Foundation–those donating their time and their treasure, continue to “come to the table” to serve and to offer their utmost and to share in the exchange of giving and receiving.

I remember a time not so long ago in my own life, when Mother Teresa of Calcutta said that America experienced not so much material poverty, as it did spiritual. I don’t think we could find many folks today who know that material poverty has “gained ground on the American landscape”. There’s no question that we long to see and that we work together, not only to address this change, but to reverse it.

Over this past decade especially, my experience of Thanksgiving has been quite different than those earlier years, and perhaps it has become in some sense more in keeping with “the legend” at least, of the original Thanksgiving: the celebrating, the sharing, that insures not only survival, but that cultivates community. To all of our wonderful benefactors–volunteers, donors, guests, clients, staff, friends, and family, bless you for keeping the “Giving” in thanks. And for doing that not only during the Holiday Season, but every single day.

On November 6 2009, I blogged about an advocacy alert regarding H.R. 3962, the Affordable Healthcare for America Act. Here’s an update on H.R. 3962 and the health care reform bills before the Senate.

On November 7, 2009, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3962 by a vote of 220-215. With a margin this close, it is clear that every single phone call made to Congressional representatives was important.

H.R. 3962 expands Medicaid and increases Medicaid reimbursement rates, creates a government-run public health insurance option, and makes some improvements to Medicare Part D prescription drug provisions.

NETWORK: A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby has an overview of the major provisions of H.R. 3962 here.   If you prefer listening to your health care reform update to reading about it, go to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities website here and listen to their podcast, “Understanding the House Health Reform Bill”.

Now that the House of Representatives has approved their health care reform plan, it is up to the Senate to come up with a plan of their own. There are currently two different health care bills that have passed out of two Senate committees. The Senate can either try to reconcile those two bills, or they can start from scratch with a completely new bill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is working to unite Senate members in time to hold a vote on the Senate bill before Christmas.

Stay tuned to the St. Anthony Foundation blog for more advocacy opportunities and updates on health care reform.   In the meantime, you can take this opportunity to contact your Senators through this nifty and easy-to-use form on the NETWORK: A Catholic Social Justice Lobby website.

Tune in on Thanksgiving Day to KGO AM 810 between 12pm-2pm for KGO’s 21st Annual Thanksgiving Charities Drive.  Hosted by radio celebrity Gil Gross, the show will be airing live from St. Anthony Dining Room, where regulars, volunteers, and special guests (like Craigslist founder Craig Newmark ) will share their holiday stories. The show is part of a holiday season fundraiser for St. Anthony’s and 3 other Bay Area organizations (St. Vincent De Paul Free Dining Facility in Oakland, Sacred Heart Community Services in San Jose, and Fresh Start in Walnut Creek.).

Greetings and salutations from the 3rd floor! Today marks the first official blog entry on behalf of the Tenderloin Tech Lab (TTL). The TTL is the result of a symbiotic partnership between the St. Anthony Foundation and San Francisco Network Ministries. Each organization has had a presence in the community for several decades. Both organizations offer several services that help those most in need, commonly found on the margins of society. While both the St. Anthony Foundation and Network Ministries have their own unique approach to better serving the poor they had one thing in common; they each had their own computer lab.

In an effort to do away with duplicated services, Karl Robillard and Salena Bailey, representatives of each organization, met and discussed plans to collaborate on combining each of their computer training programs. Although the Tech Lab is located at 150 Golden Gate in the new building erected by Saint Anthony’s is, the tech lab would not be possible without the efforts from both agencies. Network Ministries retains its own unique identity while contributing greatly to the efforts in providing individuals computer training to enhance their lives.

Back to the blogging…

It is hard to believe that after being operational for over an entire year this is our first blogging experience. One would think that the Tech Lab would be a place to embrace the ever-changing world of technology and communication, right? To be honest, we just wanted to make sure this blogging thing wasn’t just a passing fad. You know, like beanie babies, boy bands, and iPhones.

On a more serious note, please look to check out our blog that we will update weekly. We will be announcing upcoming events, highlighting profiles of individuals within the community, and providing general updates to the Tech Lab. Contributions to the blog will be made by our stellar staff:

The Patriarch: Karl Robillard

The Matriarch: Salena Bailey

The boy wonder: Jesse Shaver

The brains behind the operation: Chris Moore (recent award winner of employee of the month) and Ryan Castanos

The Orchestrator: Jaymz (James Stuart)

The puppet master: Alex Lyon

#1 Intern: Sarah Kamida

Signing off for now…

Cmoore

Every day I hear about the scarcity of the H1N1 vaccine. The dramatic evening news shot panning up the long lines of all the people who are going without. And how is it that in our great country with all our technological advances, research facilities and top of the line medical professionals, could we ever face this problem?

These lines are not the only inconceivable lines that are out there in the real world.  But most of them are not on the news.  Most of them do not get air time. Or the “oh’s and ah’s” of public astonishment.

Every day, in St. Anthony Dining Room, 1,000 meals are served to seniors, families and people who have physical or mental disabilities.  Another 1,600 are served to our poor and low-income guests, many of whom rely on it as the only meal they will eat that day. And it’s not just St. Anthony Foundation, it’s the food banks, the smaller food pantries, it’s a collection of community-based organizations that help create the safety net, all working together to provide for those without.

And as uplifting as this community bond and compassion for one another is, it at times can be frustrating.  Why are we not more outraged? Why is it acceptable that people in our cities do not have food? Health care? A safe place to live?  How is that not newsworthy? We continue to educate those who do not understand the issues of poverty, we continue to serve those who are in need, and provide real steps to regain self-sufficiency.  And do so in hopes that it will help open more eyes and hearts to the lines, the everyday lines that need our attention as well.