We have been lucky to have a great group of enthusiastic, hard-working interns at SAF this summer, whose dedication to their different projects will leave a lasting impact on our organization. One such intern, Theresa Martin, is finishing up her project this week on a guide to food options in the Tenderloin. To pull together her guide, called ‘Tenderloin Tastes,’ Theresa walked the TL, visiting local establishments and interviewing business owners on the food offerings they have on hand. She visited more than 60 food establishments in the Tenderloin while working on her project, including 46 in one day.

Theresa mapped out the Tenderloin by street, and categorized the food options located on each street as either a ‘Market’ or a ‘Restaurant.’ For each market, she listed average prices for staple items, such as cereal, bread, milk and eggs. For restaurants, she included the type of food served, typical prices for entrees, whether or not the restaurant accepts credit/debit, and if they offer take out and delivery. She also attached menus of different restaurants in the back of her guide.

The inspiration for compiling ‘Tenderloin Tastes’ came out of working with guests living in the Madonna Residence, a facility for low-income senior women in the neighborhood. Women of the Madonna center will soon have small kitchenettes installed in their units, and need to know food options that are nearby and accessible so that they can prepare simple food in their own apartments. “Getting to know the women in the Madonna center has made (the project) a lot more personal,” Theresa said.

As one might suspect, the Tenderloin is home to an abundance of businesses selling food within just a few short blocks, but these businesses tend to fall into one of two camps: convenience/liquor stores, or small family-owned sit-down restaurants. Not one of the more than 60 offerings Theresa documented is an actual grocery store. “It’s a problem that there’s not a lot of healthy food that can be quickly prepared” in the Tenderloin, she said.

Theresa has done more than put together a comprehensive collection of food resources for guests who live in the Tenderloin, she’s also conducted a survey confirming the fact that the Tenderloin remains a food desert for its residents. Hopefully the ‘Tenderloin Tastes’ guide will help guests better understand their food options in the neighborhood, and also incite change to make those options healthier, more plentiful, and more affordable.

Great work, Theresa!

St. Anthony Dining Room welcomes back Chef Jason, who has recently returned to take over as our Executive Chef. Jason is originally from Hawaii, and has 20 years of culinary experience. He’s the owner of Locavore, a restaurant focused on a fresh, locally-sourced menu. He hopes to bring a similar style of community-centered cooking to St. Anthony’s.

We asked him a few questions to get to know him a little better:

What’s your favorite dish to cook at home? Enchiladas.

What’s your guilty pleasure? Lots of ice cream.

What dish is surprisingly easy to make? Any kind of soup.

In your experience at St. Anthony’s, what’s the most popular menu item? Baked bone-in chicken!

Have there been any interesting moments while working here? It’s not really a moment, but my friends are always surprised at how many St. Anthony’s guests I know and say “Hello” to while walking around the city.

What’s different about cooking for St. Anthony’s guests? They’re not afraid to compliment–or give pointers to–the chef.

The Dining Room staff says your chocolate chip cookies are the best. Are they just buttering you up for more? Nope. They are the best!

Many thanks to Jason and our talented chefs, Kevin, Lien and Luis, for keeping us all coming back for seconds.

Have you ever tried to explain why a website crashed to someone who is terrified of touching a computer?  Or maybe you want to know how Facebook and Twitter emerged as the tipping points in toppling the regime of the former President of Egypt?  If you ever ask yourself these questions or wonder how social media (like Facebook and Twitter) can change our world, you might have found some answers at St. Anthonyís symposium, Social Change 3.0:  Transforming the world one click at a time.

Roughly 140 people, representing a diverse group of nonprofits, businesses, and venture capitalists, convened at The Hub on Mission Street last Tuesday to be regaled by stories, facts, and anecdotes from experts in social media who use these tools every day to create positive change in our world.

Our panelists shared myriad examples of ways we are changing the world every day: Jake Levitas, Research Director at the Gray Area Foundation, opened the evening with a sharp perspective on how social media can influence our democratic process. “Our current model of democracy is thousands of years in the making. Today we’re in a modality of instant change.”

Megan Trotter, Manager of the Tenderloin Technology Lab, highlighted the importance of digital inclusion within the arc of innovation. “Technology is important, but equally important is the human contact needed to help people learn how to use it.” (more…)

In California, Adult Day Health provides health care, nutritious meals, physical and speech therapy, and socialization for 34,000 frail seniors and people with disabilities as a Medi-Cal benefit.  Medi-Cal is California’s Medicaid program, a public health insurance program for low-income Californians.

In March of 2011, the budget agreement that was passed by the legislature and signed by the Governor eliminated Adult Day Health services as a Medi-Cal benefit.  This cut is set to take effect on October 1, 2011.

The legislature and Governor have allocated $85 million (half of the yearly cost to run the Adult Day Health Care program) to transition existing recipients into other services.   It is not clear how many of the over 300 centers, 7,000 employees and 34,000 recipients will be able to continue in a new model of Adult Day Health Care with State general funding cut by 50%.  California currently does not have a plan in place for how Adult Day Health Care recipients would be transitioned to receive other services.  Eleven of the 300 Adult Day Health Care centers in the state (including one in San Francisco) have closed as of today.

That is why advocates are asking the Governor to sign AB 96 , authored by Assemblymember Bob Blumenfield (D, Woodland Hills), a bill that would direct the CA Department of Health Care Services to develop and implement a new model of Adult Day Health Care.  AB 96 would:

• Direct the State Department of Health Care Services, on or before September 1, 2011, to submit an application to the federal government to implement the Keeping Adults Free from Institutions (KAFI) program.  KAFI will provide services for recipients of adult day health care who are at the greatest risk of institutionalization.
• Establish that the KAFI program shall utilize licensed adult day health centers to provide services for Medi-Cal beneficiaries who have been assessed to be at significant risk of institutionalization.

AB 96 is on Governor Brown’s desk, and he has until July 26, 2011 to veto or sign the bill.  The California Association for Adult Day Services is asking people around the state to contact the Governor and ask him to sign AB 96.  They suggest using the following language:

“Please sign AB 96 to preserve services at existing Adult Day Health centers and avoid harm that would come from any gaps in patient care.”

Click here for Governor Brown’s contact information.

If you’d like more information about this issue, check out this story from California Healthline.

Every year, the Tech Lab has the honor of supporting a Jesuit Volunteer.  ”Jesuit Volunteers are called to the mission of serving the poor directly. They work for and with people who are homeless, unemployed, refugees, people with AIDS, the elderly, street youth, abused women and children, the mentally ill and the developmentally disabled” (JVC).  For the past year, the Tech Lab has been honored to have Jesuit Volunteer, Julie Arcaro, work with us.

Julie has been a vital asset to the Tech Lab.  Through her work teaching classes, preparing class schedules, coordinating volunteers, and providing support wherever needed; Julie has played a major role in the day to day functioning of the Tech Lab.  Her humor, light personality, and work ethic will be missed in the Tech Lab.  Please take the time to wish Julie the best of luck as she moves on from the Tech Lab in the following month.

Dr. Ana Valdez is a finalist for a Healthcare Heroes Award. Sponsored by the San Francisco Business Times, the new awards honor professionals who go above and beyond to make the Bay Area healthier by delivering quality care, advocating for patients, innovating with new technology or educating the community about health issues. Recipients will be announced at the awards ceremony on July 27.

Dr. Ana does all of the above. She has made St. Anthony’s Medical Clinic into a medical home for those who need it most: the uninsured and underinsured, the working poor, new immigrants, and low-income families with children.

Her experience practicing Family Medicine in the American Southwest, Mexico, and Guatemala prepared her for St. Anthony’s. She knows how to provide high-quality care with limited resources . Her approach makes rigorous use of counseling, health education, and peer support. St. Anthony patients participate in their own care.

Dr. Ana has taken a “go get ‘em” approach to inviting diabetic patients who have trouble keeping current with their care to come in for a visit with a doctor. The Clinic organizes 4 Diabetes Days a year. They telephone all of our Diabetic patients who haven’t been in for a while to come in for a check-up, treatment, and counseling. On the same day, they invite the neighborhood to come in for screening and Q & A about Diabetes.

It started as an experiment and it worked so well that the Clinic started a series of Asthma Days to do the same thing with asthma patients: 4 Asthma Days a year, calls to the asthma patients they haven’t seen in a while, and an invitation to neighbors who might become new patients. Soon, thanks to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, they’ll replicate the whole model for women’s breast health to prevent and identify breast cancer and other diseases early on.

Whatever happens on July 27, Dr. Ana is a healthcare hero to her colleagues, and to 3400 people who make the Clinic their medical home. We’re grateful to the San Francisco Business times for honoring Dr. Ana.

Check out the SF Business Times for a profile of Dr. Ana and the other finalists.

St. Anthony’s and San Francisco Network Ministries founded the Tenderloin Tech Lab together because both organizations were seeing ever more people who needed to learn basic computer skills and help with finding a job. St. Anthony’s was moving into our new building and Network Ministries agreed to move part of their program in with us. We thought we could handle more people better if we worked in the same physical space.

Our guests are working hard to catch up with the information revolution.

We expected that, together, we’d serve 30% more guests in the new Tech Lab by sharing staff and space. Today, we’re serving 234% more guests. When the library closes early, our waiting area fills.People need computers to find work, apply for work, learn new skills, get benefits, and reconnect with family and friends. Give a person a free, hot meal and you feed them for a day. Teach a person how to use a computer and you feed them for a lifetime.

This is why we do what we do:

I was a homeless child in San Francisco during the 1980’s with my drug addicted parents and lived in Golden Gate Park.  We panhandled day and night and I remember walking up and down the steep hills of San Fran!  I also remember St. Anthony’s.  I remember sleeping on cots at night in a large room or auditorium with hundreds of people (it seemed).  I still remember the smell of the food in the cafeteria and how it made me feel!

On August 8th, 1984, I was with my father and his girlfriend at breakfast in St. Anthony’s (I called it “green eggs and ham! Not my favorite) and my mother walked in with her boyfriend.  A dispute ensued and I was taken into custody by the state.  The state placed me in foster care where my life was not much better than when I was on the streets.  I was mistreated and singled out by my foster families.  After winning custody, my mother moved me to Northern California with her and her boyfriend.  The next six or seven years brought terrible abuse by my “step-father”.

We moved to Chicago when I was nine years old and I was, again, taken into custody by the state and eventually ended up in the group home system.  I was pregnant by 16 and the group home staff scheduled my abortion.  I refused over and over until I was finally sent to a Catholic girls home.  At 17 years old, I gave birth to my first, precious child!  She is 15 now!  I had a long, hard, painful road ahead of me!  Both of my parents are deceased as a result of complications from drug use.  I restored my relationship with my mother and honored her until her death. My step-father is not well, nor mentally healthy, but I call him on Father’s Day and have compassion for him. I suffered greatly, but here I am, 32 years old, wife to my wonderful husband, John, and mother to my 7 fantastic children that go to bed every night in their own warm, safe, comfortable beds! (more…)

The following is a reflection from St. Ignatius students participating in a two week immersion at St. Anthony’s.

Hello!  A lot has happened since we last wrote.  We’ve continued learning in the JEVA (Justice Education, Volunteer and Advocacy) classroom at St. Anthony Foundation.  We looked at the distribution of wealth nationally and realized the large gap between the classes.  We also used the game of JENGA as an analogy to the real world and its structure of laws and rules.  It became frustrating when rules changed and we didn’t have control over the powers that be.  Friday we discussed the different types of service in our society.  Today, Tuesday, we began talking about advocacy and how to get involved either on a legislative level or by the power of assembly.  Today we had the opportunity to meet Sean Elsburnd, an SI graduate and now the District 6 supervisor.  It was interesting to hear him speak about the city’s government and see city hall.  This past weekend we traveled to Santa Cruz for a mid-trip retreat.  We reflected and spent time at the beach.  We spent Saturday night at a hotel, and our group continued to bond and have more fun!  It was really nice to do some laundry at the local Laundromat.  Sunday we went on a nature hike and swam in the river there as well. On 4^th of July we walked to the Ferry Building and watched the city fireworks.  Yesterday we also went to Grace Cathedral and took some time to reflect and pray.  We walked down a labyrinth there.

We have kept up our nightly reflections and focused on a variety of topics including charity, justice, service, solidarity, community, and faith.  Our reflection discussions have been vital to this trip.   We are continuing to challenge others and be challenged.  The tenets of living simply, acting justly, community and spirituality continue to be very prominent in our everyday encounters.