As an intern with St. Anthony’s I spend most of my time in the Dining Room, however one morning of the week I get to hang out in the Tenderloin Tech Lab. In my two days here, I’ve helped mostly with resume writing and answered some quick questions (or tried to at least!). The pace here in the Tenderloin Tech Lab is just a bit slower then in the Dining Room. If you’ve ever been a volunteer in the Dining Room, you might know what I’m talking about. But the slower pace is one of the things I enjoy most about the tech lab. I love being able to sit down and work one-on-one with someone. Its so rewarding to see how happy they are once their resume is done!

Last Wednesday, residents of St. Anthony Foundation’s substance abuse treatment center, Fr. Alfred Center, enjoyed the amazing musical talent of up and coming singer/songwriter Garrin Benfield. This show was produced by local nonprofit Bread & Roses, an organization dedicated to uplifting the human spirit by providing free, live, quality entertainment for organizations like St. Anthony’s. Garrin fulfilled this mission to uplift spirits and more with an hour long set of original tunes and interpretations of familiar favorites. The evening ended with a rousing, standing ovation. All of us at St. Anthony’s appreciate how Garrin’s music opened our hearts and comforted our minds.

If you haven’t made it to Commonwealth Restaurant yet (the Progessive-American restaurant located in the heart of the Mission District from former Bar Tartine chef Jason Fox and Mission Street Food co-founder Anthony Myint), now is your chance. Or rather, from of September 28th – October 10th is your chance to try  inventive tasting menus and know you are helping out St. Anthony’s.

For the week of September 28th – October 10th, $10 from each tasting menu will go to The St. Anthony Foundation. That equates to 22 meals in the St. Anthony Dining Room!

Bon Appétit!

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

Monday, September 27th – Pork Chile Colorado
Mashed sweet potatoes, pinto beans and pickled cabbage and onions

Tuesday, September 28th – Chef’s Choice
St. Anthony’s Dining Room turns Iron Chef as we churn out dishes made from seasonal ingredients

Wednesday September 29th – Pork Sausage and Pepper Pasta
Garlic bread and feta cheese

Thursday, September 30th – Turkey Ham Hash and Eggs
With chive sour cream

Friday, October 1th – Chili Con Carne
Beef, beans, and chilies simmered in tomatoes.

Saturday, October 2nd – Coq au Vin
Classic French dish of chicken mushrooms and wine (no alcohol).

Sunday, September 3rd – Sloppy Joes
American Classic, Ground beef, tomato and onion.

Check back for weekly installments of On The Menu!

This past Wednesday, I made a trip to Sacramento with three residents of our Father Alfred Center (FAC) recovery program.  We travelled to Sacramento to talk to lawmakers about the importance of a fair state budget that supports low-income families, people with disabilities, seniors, and people who are working to get back on their feet in the wake of the “great recession”.

Two of advocates had travelled to Sacramento last month to help advocate for a fair budget.  The other advocate, who grew up in Sacramento and whose mother lives only blocks from the Capitol, had never been to the Capitol before.

Our advocates spoke about the  increased numbers of people we’ve seen in our free dining room, medical clinic, and our Tenderloin Technology Lab.  They also talked about the experiences of their brothers in recovery at FAC who are trying very hard to find work but are facing the challenges of being unemployed in a weak economy.  They talked about the importance of having a safety net to help people when times are tough.

After one of our meetings with legislative staff, one of the FAC residents asked me, “do you think those people knew that we’re in a drug and alcohol rehab?”  He was concerned that the legislator’s staff might have written them off because they’re in recovery.  One of the other guys responded, “I’m proud of being in recovery and I don’t care who knows it.  Being in recovery is hard work and it’s something to be proud of.”

It was a pleasure for me to see our advocates supporting each other as they supported a California budget that will help California’s working families, seniors, people with disabilities, and people who have fallen through the cracks in the safety net. I’ve learned from them that one important component of recovery is giving back to the community. Our advocates did a wonderful job of giving back by speaking up on Wednesday.

September is National Recovery Month and St. Anthony Foundation’s Father Alfred Center has a lot on its plate. First what is recovery month? I went to www.recoverymonth.gov to find out.

“Recovery Month is an annual observance that takes place during the month of September.

The Recovery Month observance highlights the societal benefits of substance abuse treatment, lauds the contributions of treatment providers and promotes the message that recovery from substance abuse in all its forms is possible.”

Events are being held around the Nation, the State (and more importantly for us) right here in the SF Bay Area.

On Sunday 19th, San Francisco Narcotics Anonymous held their very first Men’s Breakfast. 300+ men gathered for this event at the Hilton. Father Alfred Center Alumni & Staff donated enough tickets for 5 of our residents to attend. The massive breakfast is a great opportunity for fellowship and bonding within the NA recovery community. The event was highlighted by an inspiring speaker who shared his experience strength and hope around his addiction and recovery experience. Those in attendance say it was very inspiring.

On Saturday 18th Father Alfred Center participated in the East Bay Unity Day (held at Laney College in Oakland). 10 of our residents attended and helped out with setting up and decorating for the main speaker. I asked one of the attending residents about the experience. He told me,

“It was one of the most memorable unity days I’ve ever been too. For me the most powerful moment was during the ‘clean time countdown’ (where all present acknowledge their clean time by standing when their number is reached). There was one woman at the end who had only one day of clean time. It made me think back to when that was me with one day clean. It was a really scary place to be.”

This Saturday (25th) is SF unity day. 15 Father Alfred Center residents will be attending & helping out again. Unity day offers workshops, speaker meetings, karaoke, comedy shows, open mic, workshops and fellowship for those who attend. Father Alfred Center Councilor Craig Surratt said this:

“Narcotics Anonymous has allowed Father Alfred Center to be of service in these events for years. It not only helps the event, but also helps our residents with re-socialization into society. By participating it encourages them not to isolate and makes them feel more a part of the larger NA community.”

On September 30th, 15 of our residents will be attending a Major League Baseball game between the SF Giants Vs Arizona Diamondbacks courtesy of The National Council on Alcoholism & Other Drug Addictions. It’s an event the residents are really looking forward to.

National Recovery Month is an exciting time for us. The multiple events around the bay area allow our residents a chance to step out of the microcosm of the Father Alfred Center and get a broader view of the Recovery Community that will be an integral part of their continued sobriety and reintegration into society.

Friday is the last day that I am working at St.  Anthony Foundation.

I keep repeating that thinking maybe it will sink it, but so far it hasn’t.  Maybe if I were nagged about leaving, or given guilt trips it would feel more like a reality.  But, true to form, my colleagues have been nothing but supportive about my move onward to a new position.

Perhaps when I’m walking to work on my first day and don’t hear the shout outs and good mornings lining my path, as if the walk up to Golden Gate were my own personal stadium tunnel and I was on my way to play in the championship game, perhaps then it will sink in.  Maybe when lunchtime rolls around and there is no Dining Room menu to ponder, when the table I sit at is not surrounded by staff and volunteers who are all dedicated to this earnest and fundamental mission, who know we are lucky enough to share in this meal along with so many others who rely it. Perhaps then it will feel real.

St. Anthony’s has been more than employment. It has been a life-changing and perspective-altering experience.  It has not just built my resume, it has built my character.  Leaving, I feel akin to clients in programs who have moved along to the next step, and know that I am welcome back, but am saddened that I won’t see the smiling and supportive faces of the people who have helped me arrive at this point in life on a regular basis.

This organization truly and deeply cares about the whole of each person who enters its doors.  I have never been so acutely aware of the trials, triumphs and underlying vulnerable humanity in each person as I have been here.  And that will carry on with me wherever I go.

Everyone has that first job they look back on that changed, reaffirmed or otherwise set them on the right path.  I am lucky, grateful and honored that St. Anthony’s is that part of my personal history.

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

Monday September 20th – Chef’s Choice
St. Anthony’s Dining Room turns Iron Chef as we churn out dishes made from seasonal ingredients

Tuesday September 21th – Warm Potato and Cauliflower Aloo Gobi
With a curried lentil salad

Wednesday September 22th – Chicken Tacos
With black beans, red rice and avocado salsa

Thursday, September 23th – Turkey Ham Hash and Eggs
With chive sour cream

Friday, September 24th – Chicken Cacciatore Pasta
With parmesan cheese and vegetables

Saturday, September 25th – Vegetable Shepards Pie
Savory gravy topped with mashed sweet potatoes and cheese

Sunday, September 26th – Lemon Rosemary Chicken Stew
Served with parmesan risotto and salad

Check back for weekly installments of On The Menu!

Each day this past week (9/13-17), I’ve been looking upon the familiar faces of St. Anthony Foundation volunteers who’ve been attending our annual Town Halls. We hold these meetings each year over the course of several days to share the latest news of doins’ at St. Anthony’s; to brief and invite folks into the Advocacy issues and efforts we’re focused on; to receive feedback from our volunteers themselves; and to thank them for being the vital corps of caring community for all who come to us. This volunteer care-giving at St. Anthony Foundation has been going on, as of October 4th, for 60 years!

‘Sixty years and counting of compassionate service—respecting & supporting the inherent dignity of each and every person who comes to us. Volunteers, staff, programs, clients and guests have and will come and go in this river of dedicated response, attentive to the needs of the time… all of us an integral part of that flow.

As we celebrate this important milestone in our history, it’s especially poignant to look out over these wonderful faces—the faces of character and care that our guests count on seeing and being seen by, day in and day out. Our new Executive Director, Shari Roeseler, brought that point home in a special way this week as she’s addressed each day’s gathering. Shari’s been at the helm of St. Anthony Foundation for 3 months now, and her fresh perspective is a real tribute to our volunteers. Shari told us that she worked in the past for a couple of years near Loredo, Texas in a place that provided support for the homeless. She said the looks on the faces of those who came for help were often filled with terror and fear. Most of them were just arriving from very desperate situations. We know that they were met by the gaze and welcome of those who could give help them begin to feel safer. We have been offering a safe haven at St. Anthony’s for decades now and our guests count on that. Shari went on to say that the look she’s noticed on the faces of the most of the Dining Room guests at St. Anthony’s is one of relief. The sense of belonging, of family, of community at St. Anthony Foundation is one our guests can trust, and trust in large part because of the way our volunteers see and serve our guests. We believe in the possibilities of healing transformation that can happen on a personal and on a societal level when the very real and daily practice of beholding all persons with respect is honored. Our volunteers have been sharing in this transformation day in and day out for nearly 60 years, and this “TL…C” is a lens through which we behold together the past, the present, and the future. When I look out upon the wonderful faces of our volunteers, the looks of caring confidence I see renew my faith in our ability to meet and overcome any and all barriers to a much more caring world.

Thank you, volunteers! And bless your giving hearts and good humor! These ways of seeing and receiving one another cannot be overstated for the hope they offer in the moment and beyond.