Basic services are never basic to those in need of them. Every day at St. Anthony’s, we see the affect a good meal or warm clothes can have on someone, especially if they’re homeless and hungry and cold. It is our hope that sustainment eventually leads to stability, which, in the case of most of our guests, means finding a place to live. But even when that does happen, the work doesn’t end there. Think about all the things that make you happy, that make you safe and secure, that are currently required to lead the life that you’re living; and now remove all those things. You have an empty room, a cupboard that is bare, a refrigerator that is empty but for an opened box of baking soda, and a closet with the few clothing items you managed to hold on to while you were homeless. What now? Well, that’s where SF Smiles comes in.

SF Smiles is a San Francisco-based non-profit organization that works to provide individuals and families in need with basic necessities by collecting furniture, home essentials, toiletries, clothing, and baby gear from the community and redistributing to those who need them the most. SF Smiles serves homeless and low-income individuals and families, victims of domestic violence, and people with developmental and mental health related disabilities by distributing these much needed items either directly to those in need or to the programs that directly serve them.

But I’ll let Chad Christensen, Founder and Director of SF Smiles, tell you more about the program himself:

Tell me a little about your work and what you do at SF Smiles?

Basically, what I do is pick up donations from people in the community who are getting rid of things. The donors are varied – sometimes it will be a family clearing out items their children have outgrown; offices that are remodeling/relocating/closing that give us furniture, microwaves, miscellaneous supplies; we get leftovers from estate sales; we get furniture from people who are moving or redecorating their homes; you name it. I collect a huge variety of items, have volunteers help me organize them and then use those items to fulfill requests that come in from individuals and families. The referrals to our program primarily come through the staff of other agencies of which the individuals/families are clients. Their social worker will assess their needs and assist them with completing the request form. I fill the requests on a first-come, first-served basis depending on what I have in stock at the time. Items typically go out as quickly as they come in.

Tell me a little about your life and what led to you getting into this kind of work?

I have always been a caregiver, a non-profit worker, a creative person who likes to do things differently than everyone else. And if you ask my wife, I can never pass up a perfectly good, usable item left on the sidewalk. I started collecting odds and ends that I found knowing that SOMEONE needed it and I would quickly find a home for it. Through my old job at a local non-profit agency serving people with disabilities, I always knew of someone in need. When I lost my job a few years ago, I knew I wanted to start something new that would make people smile. We actually had the name before we knew exactly what we were going to do. SF Smiles all started with a group of people brainstorming ways to help the community and has evolved to what it is today – a service which helps people in need access essential living items. We started by networking with a few local agencies whose clients we could help and in the past six months the number of requesting agencies has skyrocketed to over 20. These are 20+ organizations whose clients are in need of home and family essentials.

What is the most rewarding part of your work? What do you enjoy most about it?

The smiles from individuals and families when you show up at their front door with the items they had requested! Many are so overwhelmed with joy and happiness you can tell that it’s now one less thing to worry about! The parents might be single parents or couples who have so many things that they are trying to work out. Being a single parent, going back to school, a new job, an empty home, a not so great past and now they are ready to move forward in their new journey. We are so happy that we can help them worry about one less thing!

What is the most frustrating part of it?

We have grown so fast and have such limited space for storing items. By not having a larger space to store more donations and without a space we cannot promote SF Smiles in a bigger way, we cannot collect all of the donations that get offered to us, which means we can’t yet serve as many families as we want. Many might go weeks without any furniture or household items.

Tell me a little about what other types of things you’re doing for the community?

I’ve always wanted my work to have a larger impact and the way I see it, I want SF Smiles to be a megaphone for the other amazing organizations in SF that the average person may not know about. Through social media, events, donation drives, and simple word of mouth, SF Smiles raises public awareness about the great agencies that we are connected with.

For a while, we ran a program called “Sandwiches & Smiles” which gathered a group of volunteers from Project Insight, the Haight Street Clinic and SF Smiles to make sandwiches and bag lunches for local homeless people.

Sometimes participants from the agencies we serve come and volunteer, helping us sort donations and get things organized.

What’s next for you and SF Smiles?

Next up – we definitely need a space. We are operating out of our garage at the moment, which means we have limited space and also don’t have a public drop-off place for donors or a place that clients can come pick out what they want. We are actively looking for space and once we have a space that we can invite clients to, that donors can drop off donations to, we will be able to cast a wider net to pull in more donations and serve more families.

And – Funding! We are currently volunteer-run and operating on a small budget which covers our basic expenses. We are exploring different funding opportunities to make SF Smiles a robust organization.

Do you know someone who works for the city? Do you or do you know someone who might have free or inexpensive space somewhere for storing donations? Are you a grant writer or do you know any grant writers?

If you have questions, ideas, suggestions or would like to help out-please call Chad at (415) 412-7101 or email me at chad@sfsmiles.org.

If you would like to donate clean and usable furniture, household items, toys, clothing and baby items please visit our website www.sfsmiles.org for a complete list of what we are looking for.

In photo, from left: Chad of SF Smiles and his friend Rita

Treat Yourself- St. Anthony celebrates National Women Health Week with a day-long health fair for women.

Women often serve as caregivers for their families, putting the needs of their spouses, partners, children, and parents before their own. As a result, women’s health and well-being becomes secondary. As a community, we have a responsibility to support the important women we know and do everything we can to help them take steps for longer, healthier, happier lives.

On May 7^th , 2013 St. Anthony Medical Clinic is hosting Women’ Health Day to celebrate National Women’s Health Week.  The day will cover women’s breast health, nutrition, physical activity, and emotional health including education and resource building around issues of domestic violence and abuse.

We will collaborate with San Francisco General Hospital’s Mammo Mobile, which will provide screenings, Kaiser Permanente, Women’s Community Clinic and La Casa de las Madres, as well as St. Anthony’s own health care providers to offer a comprehensive program to the women of the Tenderloin.

It can be challenging to get low-income women into health services.  Many barriers delay or prevent accessing care, including linguistic and cultural differences, financial pressures, and the fact that most low-income women’s resources go to providing food and housing for themselves and their families leaving little money or time to devote to their own well-being. Low-income women face the same pressures most women face, but with far fewer resources to manage them.

The theme of the day is ‘Treat Yourself’ that that is that taking care of yourself is important for wellness, but also that caring for your self has additional rewards that ripple out to families and communities.

To make the experience complete, we will offer our attendees some additional gifts.  Sephora has donated make-up, perfume, skin care, and other “treatment” gifts to help us complete our wellness day.  These are items often completely beyond the reach of low income women and so important to women’s self-esteem.  The clinic staff are preparing healthy food from their own “recipe box” to share and printed recipes will be available for our guests.

This year on Valentine’s Day, the Free Clothing Program played host to VET SOS, and by ‘played host,’ I mean they took over our parking lot for the day. We are happy to announce that VET SOS will now be visiting the Free Clothing Program on a regular basis, about three times a year. VET SOS is a volunteer-based project providing free veterinary care for the companion animals of homeless San Franciscans. The project uses a specially outfitted van to provide its outreach and veterinary services in selected areas of San Francisco that are inhabited by homeless individuals with companion animals.

The project visits the Castro/Mission, China Basin, Golden Gate Park, Haight-Ashbury and Bayview-Hunter’s Point neighborhoods on the second Friday of each month. In addition, the project provides its services at San Francisco’s six annual Project Homeless Connect events in the City’s Tenderloin neighborhood, and in Golden Gate Park during Notre Dame de Namur University’s Thanksgiving Day Picnic with the homeless.

The van carries veterinary vaccinations, medications, medical charts, animal food, leashes, collars, halters, and other necessary supplies that are dispensed on site by a volunteer staff that includes one or more veterinarians, one or more vet techs, and an animal assistant. When possible, an animal behaviorist joins this team.

Valentine’s Day was the first time they were using the Free Clothing Program as one of their mobile sites, so we were all a little nervous about how it would go. But according to Bernadette Guirguis, VET SOS Project Assistant, it was the bee’s knees! Though I’m pretty sure they don’t treat bees.

 A total of 36 animals were seen (32 dogs, 3 cats, and a rat) and 2 animals were sent to be spayed/neutered at the San Francisco SPCA! We’re also very pleased to announce that VET SOS will be returning to the Free Clothing Program on May 9^th, as well as again in November.

Donations to VET SOS can be made directly to the Free Clothing Program. Here is what they are specifically in need of (the ones in bold are the highest need): flea treatment k9/feline, heart guard (all sizes), 22g 3/4in needles, allergy pills, shampoos, wet food, muzzles (all sizes), bowls, doggie clothing (all sizes), nail trimmers (non-guillotine), heat sources/heat pads, plastic bags (grocery bags for supplies), non-expired antibiotics. Please note that Vet SOS cannot accept expired medications, expired pet food, or controlled substances, will not accept open bags of pet food, and currently cannot accept donations of LRS or other fluids, any insulin syringes, or IV medications.

 Thank you again to Bernadette and everybody at VET SOS for helping to improve the lives of our clients and the pets they love!

In photo: a VET SOS client with her dog, Precious.

Photo courtesy of Mark Rogers photography.

This last Wednesday, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. St. Anthony’s Dining Room was transformed into a dance studio. That’s right- a dance studio. If you had happened to be passing by the building, you might have heard the rapid squeaks and taps of people’s shoes dancing across the linoleum floor and Beyonce singing “Move Your Body” on the loud speakers.

At this time every Wednesday, you will find this fun-loving group of people doing something truly spectacular- getting fit together. Some of the members are patrons St. Anthony’s free clinic, and have been diagnosed with diabetes or may are be at serious risk for other ails. Although anyone, guest or not is encouraged to join the class. Fresh fruit is also offered for free as a snack during the workout to encourage healthy eating.

Their fearless leader and teacher, Dexter encourages getting active in any way possible. “Most people think of marathon running when they think of exercise. But exercise is fun, and we prove that every Wednesday.” This fitness group’s activities will range from anything to stretching, power walking, and circuit training. This week the workout theme happened to be Beyonce. So, St. Anthony’s encourages you to join the movement in getting fit, and find ways to “Move Your Body”!

Getting to (or as close to) “0” Waste is the Green Team’s goal. What does that mean?  All of our waste/garbage will be composted, recycled, reused, e-wasted; nothing will go into landfill. St. Francis, patron saint of ecology, would be proud that we are doing our share in being good stewards of our mother Earth. This also means that we save on our garbage bills – increasing our compost and recycling volume lowers our garbage bills.

The average American generates about 5 pounds of solid trash a day!   In a year’s time, that equals 1,825 pounds of trash per person.  The population of the United States gets rid of about 210 million tons of junk every year!  Schools, hospitals, businesses and government agencies also produce a lot of garbage.

All of this garbage has to go somewhere, usually a landfill.  Garbage is dumped into a landfill and is then covered with dirt.  The United States and the rest of the world is quickly running out of landfill space. The answer to this landfill shortage is simply for people to compost, recycle and reuse. 

Landfills also cause another problem.  When rain or snow falls on the landfills and then seeps into the garbage, they turn into a poisonous, soupy liquid called leachate.  This leachate sinks into the ground and pollutes the groundwater under the landfill.  It also can leak into streams, lakes and natural wells. If this poisonous liquid gets into our drinking water it is very expensive and difficult to purify the water to get rid of this contaminated substance.

Over the past months St. Anthony’s has composted and recycled on average about 65% of its’ garbage.  With our focused goal  of “0” Waste   in mind we are doing our best to get to over 80%; then hopefully soon after 100 % of our waste/ garbage will be composted, recycled, reused or e-wasted.  The Green Team’s goal of “0” Waste will be challenging but we are determined to get there.

Nella donates 12 lbs. of produce for Clinic patients

Americorps volunteer Jackie Hsieh teaches a Healthy Cooking class on Tuesday afternoons to St. Anthony Medical Clinic patients who are interested in learning about food and cooking, losing weight, or just getting healthier in general. Jackie gets vegetable donations each Friday from a group of farmers at the Heart of the City Farmers’ Market in the Civic Center (the oldest farmers’ market in San Francisco), which she uses both for her cooking demonstrations and as incentives to give to patients to take home.

This week, attendees of Jackie’s cooking class will receive vegetables from the Tenderloin People’s Garden, a project of Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation (TNDC). Garden Coordinator Nella says that anyone is welcome to get free produce at the Tenderloin People’s Garden, because it is a garden “of the people, by the people, for the people.” The bounty this week included lacinato kale, collard greens, mustard greens, red Swiss chard, and parsley. Altogether it was 12 pounds of fresh produce harvested in about 20 minutes. Nella says people don’t believe her when she tells them they can harvest 200 pounds of produce, but the 12 pounds donated for Clinic patients hardly made a dent in the beds of greens.

Each of these crops is a nutritional powerhouse, especially the collard greens, which Nella says is the number one crop for nutrient value. Any of them can be sautéed with some onions, garlic and olive oil, but she also recommends tossing the chopped mustard greens into some broth for a great vegetable soup.

Thank you to the Heart of the City Farmers’ Market, to the Tenderloin People’s Garden, and to all of the other groups who contribute to making healthy living a real possibility for our patients.

Last week I attended the Interactive portion of South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, TX.  SXSW is a massive conference/festival that brings together the new ideas and trends in music, film, and technology.  As the Program Manager of the Tenderloin Technology Lab (TTL), I attended the Interactive portion which focuses on emerging technology and works as a breeding ground for new ideas and creative technology.  This was my first time at SXSW and I was unsure of what to expect.  I had heard of endless lines, and the 3 block gridlock to take a picture with grumpy cat definitely confirmed this.   I was told there would be heaps of people and every restaurant or bar would be taken over by some tech company and the blocks of overflowing Bing Lounge, Google Hangout, and Mashable Saloon offered this, but there was more to my SXSW experience.  My SXSW was shouting we need to to do more with technology!  Many speakers were tired of the fleeting joy of having someone “like” your posting on Facebook.  Even the man who invented the “like” button was pleading for more from technology.  The philosophy was present, yet, there was a lacking use of technology to assist in practical low-income domestic needs.  Many organizations in the international development field presented how they are using mobile devices and  SMS (text) messaging to completely change banking, health concerns, and daily life in developing countries.  People working in the Middle East are disruptively challenging their governments over YouTube and making social change, and stateside people are talking about a need for tech for good.  I think this is a great first step.  This is what we do at the TTL, we offer free computer access and classes for low-income/homeless population, we search for new ways to use technology to help people, and I think this is the movement.  I left Austin exhausted, excited by all the positive possibilities for tech, and hopeful that this year there will be more work done on how to creatively approach domestic issues affecting low-income/homeless populations through technology.

Meet Marcellus. He is an intelligent, personable and rather funny young man, and he’s looking for a job. Marcellus called us at 9:30 in the morning because he had a job interview at Loew’s at 12:30 and desperately needed a new suit. He had tried everywhere he could think of with no success. Finally he googled ‘free clothing’ and found us. We told him to get over here as fast as he could. Luckily, he was already on the way.

Last month, the Free Clothing Program partnered with A Miner Miracle, so we are now able to offer our male guests brand new job interview clothing. For those of you who are not familiar with A Miner Miracle, it is a San Francisco based non-profit that has been providing professional clothing and image counseling to low-income men, women and young adults seeking employment since 1995. It is the creation of Kathy Miner and has been responsible for assisting more than 13,000 individuals in their quest to re-enter the workforce. Unfortunately, the men’s program was forced to close its doors last year. The work Ms. Miner and A Miner Miracle had done is integral to the stability of the men and women they served, which included many of the residents of St. Anthony’s drug and alcohol recovery program, Father Alfred Center. So we here at the Free Clothing Program are very proud to carry on Kathy Miner’s legacy.

When I met Marcellus for the first time this morning, he was wearing a sport coat, jeans and sneakers, and I’m guessing he had spent the morning and the night before wondering how he would explain such a thing to a perspective employer. When I took him to see the clothes, he looked at me and said, with a smile on his face, “I had a feeling about this morning.”

It took about a half an hour to find him the perfect jacket. Then a brand new pair of shoes, new pants, new shirts and a black tie. The only sticking point was the belt. We literally only had one men’s belt in stock and it was a size too small. A Miner Miracle is provided a limited supply of new clothing by some very generous corporate donors; however, there are still some things, like belts and dress socks, which we rely solely on individual donations to provide. So Marcellus had to make the best with the belt we had.

Belt issues aside, Marcellus looked like a different man by the time he emerged in his new clothes. Bubbling with enthusiasm, that same big smile on his face, he left the Free Clothing Program with ‘Good lucks’ and handshakes from the entire staff. I made him promise to let us know what happened later and told him that once he got the job, he should come back for some career clothing. With a profuse amount of thank yous, Marcellus walked away, confident and capable and happy.

Thank you to Kathy Miner and A Miner Miracle for making this possible. And thank you to whoever donated a size 38 reversible black and brown leather belt. It certainly went to good use. Please keep them coming!

Ah, ah, ah, ah, staying alive, staying alive…

A life saving song that was suggested we sing if we ever need to do  CPR.  Why?  The beat to this classic 70’s Bee Gees song is just about the perfect tempo to do chest compressions while performing this life-saving  technique.

Over 55 % of St. Anthony’ staff is certified for CPR and 1^st Aid.  Almost everyday we experience health emergencies in our service programs at the Foundation – seizures, heart problems, overdose, reaction to medication, fainting,  etc.  Because of the professional  trainings we receive our staff know how to recognize and react to these emergencies, so that  while we are waiting for EMT to arrive we can respond appropriately to the emergency at hand.

About every two years our staff gets professional training from a fabulous instructor–Louise Natoli, CMA, RCT–who has been training us for over 12 years.  Every time she visits the Foundation she tells me that she is admires the work we do serving the very poor and  needy in the Tenderloin, and that that is why she likes coming to St. Anthony’s.  When we call on Louise she laboriously and lovingly drags the CPR dummies, booklets, lap top and monitor, bandages,  gauze,  practice AED’s out of her car,  to the Foundation  and sets up  the classroom in whatever conference room or office space we have available.  She is always accommodating and flexible with setting up trainings and making quick changes to the schedule  because she understands  the urgent matters that can happen in an instant for staff . During a break on her last training visit I told her that almost everyday we use the skills that she has taught us and we probably have helped to save  a life here and there.  She smiled and nodded yes as we both listened to the sound of a siren heading down Golden Gate Ave.

What comes to mind when you think of an Eagle Scout? I think of wilderness camping and daring feats of strength…Imagine my surprise when Joshua Nascimento, a young high school student contacted me about fulfilling his Eagle Scout project at St. Anthony’s! Talk about daring feats of strength…and I don’t mean scaling the walls of our building. I mean the courage and compassion of responding to the needs of the impoverished—and helping to break down the walls of misunderstanding, or even simply of “not knowing” that some more fortunate members of society are held within.

Joshua, well on his way to earning the highest ranking possible in Boy Scouts, learned more about the deeper experience of poverty that many of our guests and clients are keenly familiar with. He chose to help meet some of the most basic needs that many of our guests encounter day in and day out—access to basic hygiene products. Lacking the resources to buy these item (soap, shampoo, lotion, etc. ) many folks—housed and not, go without. The consequences of not having these simple basics can aggravate health problems and can certainly contribute to increased isolation. Thanks to Joshua and his fellow troop members, his campaign to collect these items and more (combs, toothbrushes and paste, and even snacks …) resulted in enough materials to fill more than 100 handmade tote-bags chock full of these supplies and more, topped off with a hand written greeting card. Joshua’s troop assembled these together, having fun while learning the deeper issues and reality. Joshua’s project makes a positive difference now for those receiving the tote bags. His Eagle Scout project also makes a difference going forward for those who understanding of daring feats of strength has been deepened by young Joshua’s vision.

Our guests will be receiving these wonderful “care packages”, as Joshua calls them—and they are truly that. Joshua and his Mom pulled up to deliver all these gifts on a cold and rainy Tuesday, 2/20. They’d also packed the car with boxes of food donations that were given to Joshua from private vendors and businesses in support of his project. It doesn’t take “eagle eyes” to see that Joshua’s kind nature has been nurtured by caring parents. I met with Joshua and his Mom and Dad at the beginning of this project and it was clear from the start that this family could see that some of the most severe challenges in today’s world are found in our own cities and neighborhoods. Rather than turning away, they responded with real support to those in need. I had asked Joshua to share a few words about his experience with his Eagle Scout project, and this is what he had to say:

“I first learned of the charitable work of St. Anthony’s a couple of years ago when I had the opportunity to serve meals in the Dining Room as part of a school service learning project. This participation led to subsequent volunteer visits during which I gained further understanding of the plight of some of St. Anthony’s guests. Humbled by my first-hand experience of St. Anthony’s mission of service and compassion, I aspired to find a way to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate than me. I put my dream into action in the form of care packages, continuing a unique St. Anthony’s tradition of personalized hospitality. Containing basic daily necessities of socks and personal hygiene items, as well as candy and an individualized birthday card, these care packages will be presented to the guests of St. Anthony’s on their birthdays. I hope that this small act of kindness will brighten their day and show appreciation for their inherent value and dignity as children of God.

I am really grateful for St. Anthony’s support in allowing me to give this gift of service. I would also be remiss if I did not acknowledge the support of the many who contributed to this undertaking. They include the scouts, parents, and adult leaders of Troop 12, the dental office of Dr. Bruce Newman, and the many vendors from the Travis Air Force Base Commissary and Base Exchange. Without their kind and generous support, my service project would remain just a dream.”

Eagle Scout indeed! … “Raising (others) up on Eagle’s Wings” to borrow from a beautiful song. Thank you, Joshua!