Ed. Note: This week’s entry was written by Ryan, a JEVA intern and student with the Franciscan School of Theology:

Last week on Ash Wednesday began the season of Lent. It is generally thought of in terms of penance and fasting leading eventually to the Easter time of celebration. This season is a good reminder that as with many things in life and faith, the way to joy and celebration can lead through the path of pain or suffering. Christ certainly dealt with that, but I also see that in the men that go through the Fr. Alfred Center, a year-long drug and alcohol rehab center at St. Anthony’s.

Twice a week, I am blessed to listen to the stories of those making their way through the Father Alfred Center program who struggle daily with the disease of addiction. These men come to share their stories with not just me, but usually a group of twenty or more from high schools, colleges, and other career organizations. They often reveal their inner most pain and weaknesses as they share their immense struggles battling with their disease. Prison, homelessness, poverty, violence, knife and gun wounds, broken relationships, loss of dignity, shame and regret have been their unwelcome companions on their journey. For many it has taken years to recognize their addictive illness as the source of their misfortunes and often times even more years to admit that they cannot get well on their own. When that time comes however, their season of Lent begins especially once they begin at the Father Alfred Center. Certainly there is suffering as they fight their illness, but what I hear more often is that the healing process provides for them a time to examine how their illness has influenced their past decisions, and how it has affected those around them and themselves. They begin to accept the past, recognize where they failed to love others or themselves, ask forgiveness and learn to forgive themselves. Eventually, they begin to dream about the exciting future possibilities for their life. Their journey through pain and suffering is nothing to celebrate, and yet it contains the seeds of joy and brings them to their Easter!

I think we can learn a lot from these men and their Lenten journey. As human beings, we are most truly human when we become what we were created for, to love and to serve God by loving and serving each other, and their season of Lent is bringing them back to that sense of wholeness and purpose. They struggle with a disease that is very misunderstood in our society as choice and illness become intertwined. However, like any disease, it involves a period of recovery and for them their prescription for health requires a lot of soul searching and brutal honesty. Each time I listen to them I’m astounded at their courage to share their vulnerabilities with so many people. Do I have the strength to admit, even to myself, my own weaknesses and failings? These men and this season remind me that it is in my best interest to do so. Lent is very real for them and evident in their words, and they challenge me to make Lent real in my own life. Too often, I let this season go by without really examining where my life is headed, where I failed to love others, where I need to ask forgiveness. Yet, Christ reminds us that, “unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.” (Jn 12:24) As these men make their Lenten journey, I am challenged to journey with them during this season. What needs to die in me so that when Easter comes it will be a time to rejoice because Lent has remade me and produced as much good fruit in me as I see in the men at the Fr. Alfred Center?

Four years ago in 2007, St. Anthony Foundation and San Francisco Network Ministries partnered to host the first-ever Tech Fair for residents of the Tenderloin. We helped over 70 people by fixing computer hardware problems and teaching novice computer-users new ways to access important community resources and re-connect with their friends and families. This coming Saturday, February 27th, we begin another decade of Tech Fairs at St. Anthony’s new green building @ 150 Golden Gate Avenue. We’ll be teaching Facebook 101, Introduction to Web Design, and as always, taking appointments for a free session with a professional computer technician. Stop by if you’d like to see first-hand how you can help bridge the digital divide. And if you can’t join us in person, check out what CNET thought of the first Tech Fair…

Check out a video here.

Some of the most interesting people give to St. Anthony Foundation. And some of them have never been here. Pat Lamerdin, author, potter, painter, gallery owner, and friend of San Francisco’s poor, remembered St. Anthony’s in a handwritten will.

“Pat did not have direct contact with St. Anthony’s,” said her friend Sister Susan Knutson, OSF.  “She knew it only through the poor St. Anthony’s serves and had high regard for it.”

For ten years, the two women poured coffee and served soup once a week at another nonprofit offering hospitality, lunch, and assistance to its homeless neighbors. Many homeless people produced poetry and paintings there.  “I think the artist in her allowed her to connect with people who live on the streets and who are often artistic.”

Mrs. Lamerdin’s knowledge of the poor was extensive, personal and deep. “Before I met her ten years ago, Pat had written a book, Out in the Cold, based on her interviews with the homeless.  She had great compassion for people out on the street and down on their luck or mentally ill.  I believe that came from talking to so many homeless people one-to-one.”

Sheila Beck described her as “one of the original surfer girls.” Mrs. Lamerdin sailed with her husband around the world during her twenties and thirties; her husband once crewed Errol Flynn’s sailboat.

“You don’t have to be Catholic to get what St. Francis was about and to be drawn to the Franciscan way of life,” Sister Susan said.  “Pat got that.  We were an odd couple, but she loved the life I lived and loved the way St. Francis embraced everyone. I think she was a Franciscan at heart.”

For Legacy Circle information, call contact Barry Stenger at 415-592-2735.
or bstenger@stanthonysf.org.

Some days are harder than others.

For some reason when the rain returns after a glimpse of sunlight it seems a little darker than if we just had a few rainy ones in a row.  You need that morning coffee to kick in a little harder those days.

Reading the headlines of the paper there doesn’t seem to be much in the way of uplifting news.  Budget cuts, another round of teacher pink slips, and an unrelenting concern for profit juxtaposed with a disappointing negligence toward our country’s everyday people.

As one can imagine, working in the fundraising department of a non-profit during these times is an emotional and logistical challenge.  It is my job, however, to keep faith.  And  I must say, I am in a pretty good place for that.  At St. Anthony’s I am surrounded by people keeping faith and having hope that it may be dark today, but there will be light.  Our staff, guests, supporters and neighborhood friends are all amazing reminders, and believers.

As so many know and have been touched by the gratitude expressed by our guests, I too am thankful that there is a mission and movement that I can be a part of to keep faith and remember the sunnier days ahead.

It is good to dream, but it is better to dream and work. Faith is mighty, but action with faith is mightier. Desiring is helpful, but work and desire are invincible.    –Thomas Robert Gaines

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

Monday, February 22 – Ginger Chicken
An Asian style chicken dish spiced with ginger and served over rice.

Tuesday, February 23 – Turkey Tetrazzini
Turkey and mushrooms in a cream sauce topped with Parmesan cheese.

Wednesday, February 24 – Chili con Carne
Beef simmered in a chili sauce with pinto beans.

Thursday, February 25 – Chicken, Orzo and Feta
Seasoned with oregano, lemon and mint.

Friday, February 26 – Red Beans and Rice
Cajun spiced red beans and rice.

Saturday, February 27 – Chef’s Choice

Sunday, February 28 – Ham and Vegetable Barley
A hearty blend of ham and vegetables cooked with barley.

Check back for weekly installments of On The Menu!

But there sure is a relationship between these two words! Very noticeably in the Tenderloin, where St. Anthony’s is located, the relationship between the terms is often described as “Food Insecurity,” (aka “hunger”). Many of our group volunteers who typically are here with us for a day, will often mention that some of our Dining Room guests pull food out of the “bus bin” as volunteers are circulating in the Dining Room (cleaning up the tables as folks finish their meal, so that incoming diners can sit down to eat). An initial reaction to this can stretch anywhere from pity to revulsion, but a deeper look sometimes affords a wider understanding. My colleagues and I welcome the opportunity to discuss this (and other observations people share with us) in our reflection sessions with the group volunteers.

I’m among those who are fortunate enough to know where their next meal is coming from, and even beyond that—what it will consist of—usually ingredients of my choosing. Even though St. Anthony’s Dining Room is open 7 days a week, everyday of the year, many of our guests can not count on a meal later in the day, or know for sure that they’ll be able to make it back “tomorrow.” Unless it’s early in the month when a fixed income check might afford some options, uncertainty about food (and shelter too) are understandably heightened. Understandably, yes; acceptable? No way!

On the other hand, there is a very good vision of food access in the Tenderloin. (And “good” DOES rhyme with “hood”!). Every Wednesday and Sunday in Civic Center Plaza, the Heart of the City Farmer’s Market is full of fresh and culturally diverse foods for sale. Most of this farmer’s market offering is much less expensive than other neighborhood outdoor markets. Even though most Farmer’s Markets finally do accept Food Stamp cards, the value reaches much farther when the costs are more affordable. And, there are NO big grocery stores in the area. South of Market you can find some, and you can find many little “corner stores” that are best known, most of them, for selling other than healthy, affordable foods. There are a few mini-marts, and there are some corner markets that do not sell alcohol, but these are far and few between. There aren’t so many household kitchens in the TL either, although folks may have microwaves, hot plates, rice cookers or crock pots.

I know my own spirits are lifted anytime I walk through “the Heart of the City” Farmer’s Market, which is always brimming with people who actually live in the ‘hood,’ doing their shopping, able then to easily push cart their groceries home. The “security” that comes from community being nourished in this way, is a signal recipe for serving the common good-in-the-hood!

From the Dining Room to the ‘Market, and back again, Bon apatite, my friends, for justice!

Ed. Note: This entry was written by Noah, a junior at University of San Francisco. Noah’s role is to help coordinate the service-learning program for his peers who serve with St. Anthony Foundation:

My favorite days at St. Anthony’s are the days when someone takes you completely by surprise and teaches you a lesson about yourself. I had one of those days just last Friday at St. Anthony Dining Room. A guest sat down in front of me and we began eating our burritos together. I never got his name, but for the sake of this blog post, we’ll call him Ray, because he reminded me of my Uncle Ray. After we exchanged a smile, Ray saw my nametag and asked me what I did as an intern at St. Anthony’s. I told him that I went to USF and worked with students who do service-learning. He asked me my major; I told him that I was in International Relations. His response was, “Well, you better hurry up before it’s too late!” We shared some of our views over current events and the international order. Talk over politics and policy quickly turned to history and culture, and in order to emphasize some of his arguments with visual aids, Ray whipped out his iPhone to show me some pictures of late-Medieval and Renaissance art. Eventually, we ran out of things to talk about and were resigned to agree to disagree on certain issues. Ray finished his meal and went on his way. I was left a little bit surprised that a guest at St. Anthony’s might have an iPhone. But as I kept thinking, I became even more shocked by my own prejudice. It just goes to show that as much as we like to classify and categorize people with preconceived criteria, no demographic group is 100% homogenous. Most of the guests are St. Anthony’s probably don’t have iPhones, (just as most of my colleagues at USF probably don’t) but why shouldn’t some? St. Anthony’s serves all people, with and without homes, jobs, educations, families, legal resident statuses, cars, and yes, even iPhones. It takes individuals like Ray to remind me of this. You can bet that the next time I meet a guest in St. Anthony Dining Room, I won’t be making any assumptions about his or her mobile provider.

Some alarming news about spiraling state of California health care: LA County reimbursement rates to private hospitals for emergency room visits made by patients without insurance are being cut to below 20% of visit cost. These emergency room physicians, who service primarily poor, uninsured patients, are perhaps some of the most vital players in the health care safety net. Many uninsured patients go to emergency rooms for care because law requires that the ER accept all patients, regardless of ability to pay. These safety nets are growing weaker by the second, as highlighted by an article in the LA Times today.

On Tuesday, County Supervisors voted to cut reimbursements for uninsured patient visits down to 18%. Drastically reducing pay to ER physicians and specialists means a higher burnout rate: doctors are more likely to leave these facilities for specialty practice or private work as they are continually underpaid. Uninsured visits make up 25% or more of many ER specialists’ visits, which means drastic pay cuts for these physicians. Losing top-quality doctors means losing top quality care for ER patients, leads to understaffing, and in turn perpetuates the dangerous cycle of over-worked, understaffed emergency facilities.

Private hospital emergency specialists and on-call physicians offset the volume of uninsured patients at county hospitals. This may no longer be the case as private hospitals may choose to close ER facilities due to increasing costs and bare-bones reimbursement. In fact, ER physicians in LA who treat uninsured patients have not been subsidized at all for these visits since the county put a hold on payment July 1, 2009. Part of the decision to reduce rates to 18% was because of demands to pay these delayed subsidies, if even at a lower rate. LA County is in severe debt, having lost 11 Hospitals since 2002 due to deficits. Dramatic cuts are affecting doctors, patients, and the community as a whole.

San Francisco emergency rooms are already overcrowded; we too are subject to the same healthcare anxieties as LA County. At St. Anthony Free Medical Clinic we’re doing our part to keep the safety net strong by providing medical care regardless of ability to pay. Preventative care like that our patients receive here at St. Anthony Free Medical Clinic help relieve pressure on ER facilities. Poor, uninsured patients often don’t receive the primary care they need because of economic barriers and thus delay seeking medical attention until health concerns are severe and require emergency attention. Clinics like ours empower patients, providing them with the primary care they need to stay healthy and offering healthcare support in times when they are not. St. Anthony Free Medical Clinic continues to be a source of steadfast support for the most vulnerable individuals in San Francisco—the uninsured falling through our community’s fraying safety nets.

The St. Anthony Stitchers celebrated their 25th anniversary yesterday in St. Rita’s Hall at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Pacifica. Founded in 1985 by Alice Alexander, who went to her rest in 2003 at age 95, the Stitchers sew, knit, and crochet clothes, quilts, hats and other items for our guests, especially the children.

As I always tell the school volunteer groups on the tour of the Free Clothing Program, “This quilt keeps the kid warm. Corporal works of mercy. But when a mom, after a long day of taking care of her children, no money to pay the bills, and the wolf at the door,  can look down and say, ‘Wow. Someone I don’t even know went to all the trouble to make this for me.’ That’s the spiritual works of mercy.”

God bless our Stitchers and their love made manifest in the items they give to our guests.

One of the husbands is a retired professional photographer, and we’ll be working to load his pictures on picasaweb. When we do, we’ll post the link here.

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

Monday, February 15 – Capitol Ham and White Beans
A hearty white bean stew with chunky ham. Fit for the President!

Tuesday, February 16 – Gumbo
Zesty turkey and sausage stew served over rice capturing the flavor of New Orleans.

Wednesday, February 17 – Breaded Pollock with Tartar Sauce
Filest of Pollock breaded and baked, served with tartar sauce.

Thursday, February 18 – Posole with Bacon
Posole, bacon and garlic cooked to perfection.

Friday, February 19 – Tuna Casserole
Tuna, vegetables and macaroni in a rich and hearty cream sauce.

Saturday, February 20 – Chicken Mole
Diced chicken simmered in a tomato sauce with chocolate and ground nuts.

Sunday, February 21 – Caribbean Pepperpot Stew
Sausage and ham stewed with vegetables and Island spices.

Check back for weekly installments of On The Menu!