On the first Wednesday of every month a special event takes place at St Anthony’s Father Alfred Center. It’s a day when friends and family gather together along with residents, staff and guests from St Anthony Foundation’s many other programs. They gather to give congratulations and to say a few words to (and about) those residents who have completed the year long residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation program. This day is better known as Graduation.

Graduating residents typically dress up their best attire, though some choose to dress more casual. The Ceremony starts with a blessing from the Chaplin’s department.

Staff from peripheral programs with in the St Anthony Foundation such as the Dining Room, Tenderloin Tech Lab, Social Works Center and others come up next to share stories about the graduates, and thank them for their service.

The MC next invites up volunteers who facilitate groups to talk about their experiences with the graduates and addiction in general. Alumni and residents in the 4th phase are then encouraged to say a few words. Sometimes residents will perform a song, or poem that they have worked on.

Family and Friends are welcomed to come up to the microphone and talk about their experiences with the graduates. This is followed typically by the Father Alfred Center Councilors and staff. Staff comments and stories finish off with the 4th phase councilors giving their clients a certificate of completion and their 1 year sober chip.

Finally the graduates themselves have a chance to say their peace. This is often heartfelt and sincere with thanks and gratitude to spare. At the end the Staff gathers around the mic to read the Creed. The Creed is followed by the Serenity prayer and a fantastic meal prepared by the Father Alfred Center Kitchen Crew

Tomorrow is the day of the Father Alfred Center’s, St. Anthony Foundation’s inpatient drug and alcohol treatment center, Annual Fundraiser Dinner. The Dinner is to raise money for our residents to attend the annual Northern California Narcotics Anonymous Convention (being held this year at the Santa Clara Convention Center April 1st -4th).

Every year we put together a nice dinner and ask people to sponsor one (or more) of our residents, so they may attend the convention. Family and friends can sit together with sponsored residents and enjoy a restaurant quality meal prepared and served in house.

Families are often badly damaged by the disease of addiction/alcoholism. This dinner is one of the ways that the healing process between residents and their families takes place here at Father Alfred Center.

Here’s the menu for tomorrow’s dinner (prepared by yours truly).

Appetizer

Italian Wedding soup
Shrimp Cocktail
Fresh Salad

Main Course

Seafood Alfredo over Linguine
Garlic Bread
Mixed Italian Vegetable Medley

Dessert

Strawberry Shortcake

I’ve done all my shopping. Tomorrow we get down to business and create some seriously good food. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Finding help in substance abuse treatment can be difficult. It adds yet another barrier in an already painful and difficult situation. A Google search for “drug addiction help” or “alcohol rehab” will bring up countless advertisements for costly inpatient rehab that many folks, even those currently employed, simply cannot afford or that insurance does not cover.

Fr. Alfred Center, St. Anthony’s Drug & Alcohol Rehabilitation Program, exclusively enrolls men with no income or resources to its year long program. Free or low cost opportunities for recovery happen across the country, some as stable and long lasting like St. Anthony’s, and some with rolling enrollment. It’s hard to keep track of all of it, and harder to navigate when undergoing the physical, mental and spiritual crisis of chemical dependency.

Today I stumbled upon All Treatment, a resource center and free directory of substance abuse programs in the United States. It’s comprehensive and easy to navigate, and is not affiliated with any specific treatment center or addiction recovery company.

Homelessness and substance abuse are linked, and are associated with alarmingly high mortality rates. Mortality, a very scientific and dissociative way of saying people are dying in the streets, literally, before finding help with addiction. The average age a homeless person in San Francisco dies is 41. Seventy-eight percent of those who die on the streets are intoxicated at the time they die.

That is dark, difficult to hear, and incredibly saddening. But somehow that has not been enough for the city of San Francisco to help to it’s residents who are dying on the streets by offering comprehensive drug and alcohol rehabilitation to those who most need it, and saving the programs that DO WORK from complete elimination during budget season.

According to the San Francisco City Fire Division intervention, and diversion programs work. As Chronicle  columnist C.W. Nevius has pointed out, repeat ambulance transport and emergency care spent on homeless users is very costly to the city. One of such intervention programs, McMillan Drop-In Center, created beds for emergency response calls dealing with intoxication to bring people to detox, sign-up for drug and alcohol recovery programs, and receive counseling and social services support to further stabilize themselves. In one year this program brought 300 people into detox and recovery programs, and 750 people case management linking them with critical supportive services such as housing.

Through this program “a number of high-profile homeless inebriates have been engaged and housed,” according to the San Francisco Medical Society’s study of the program. The SF Fire Department, St. Francis Hospital, SF General and other partners were thrilled by the success of the project, saving money and more importantly helping increase health and stability of at-risk San Franciscans.

But that was not enough to save the service, and McMillan Drop-In Center was cut. A similar program, Buster’s Place, was initiated in the same rite and same location. This program too, was cut.

Emergency visits are costly. Critical care is costly. Without the preventative care, supportive services and case management that help people become stable and seek help before it becomes an “emergency”, these costs will continue. To see that this is a problem in hindsight takes no special talent. But, to take action and create and support (especially in difficult times of budget crises) programs that comprehensively address the dangerous problem of drug and alcohol abuse, that takes determination and compassion. Criticizing those the system has failed has no productive ends, criticizing the failing system can bring about powerful change that makes a stronger city and citizenry.

HAPPY JUNETEENTH!!!

June 19 is the annual celebration of Juneteenth, the oldest ongoing celebration in honor of the abolition of slavery in the United States. On June 19th, 1865, Union soldiers marched into Galveston, TX with news that slavery had been ended by the Emancipation Proclamation two years earlier. For two years, slaves in the area had been unaware of their right to freedom. Texas had not had much contact from Union troops until after the April 1865 surrender of General Lee, the leader of the Confederate side in the Civil War. By 1865, Union troops were finally able to subdue the Confederate soldiers who still resisted the Northern victory.

The response to the news by the former slaves was both shock and joy. Some waited to find out if there would be a new relationship with their former masters, but many just left immediately in search of a better life and separated family members. Today, people celebrate Juneteenth in honor of those who suffered under the burden of slavery, and in honor of their freedom.

The word “Juneteenth” is a combination of “June” and “nineteenth,” and its popularity has grown and subsided through the years. Since the Civil Rights movement of the 1950’s and 60’s, it has become more popular as more people have learned about it.

(June 19, 2009 / Michelle & Lexie / SEATTLE EAST SIDE EXAMINERS)

Ever since I first learned about Juneteenth, I’ve been fascinated by the story. For two whole years all those enslaved people in Texas were legally freed, but went on living and laboring in their dehumanized condition because no one had managed to get the good news of their liberation to them.

Haven’t you had some Juneteenth moments in your own life? For many of us in recovery it’s been a clarifying moment (or season) when we realized that we actually COULD live free from the slavery of addiction. For others it may have been the liberating experience of crossing over some previously forbidding barrier, getting past fear and apprehension, (perhaps by volunteering at a place like St. Anthony’s Dining Room) and discovering that the world isn’t as scary a place as it once seemed to be. And for some of us it may have been one of those light-bulb-going-on-in-our-head moments when, thanks to the revealing insights of a teacher or mentor, or even to the stubborn position of an opponent in a debate, some previously hidden truth suddenly, finally, opens up to us.

(more…)

California’s $24 billion budget deficit and the cuts being proposed in by Governor Schwarzenegger are of much concern to the folks at St. Anthony’s. While St. Anthony’s does not accept any government funding for it’s programs and services the impact will be felt hard here. Our guests will have less support in their communities and our programs and their staff will serve even more people to make up for the closure of near by services.

One program we’re already seeing a demand for is Father Alfred Center, our year-long drug and alcohol rehabilitation program. Many of the men who come to Father Alfred Center for help are participating in Proposition 36, the 2001 California voter approved law that defers first time drug offenders to substance abuse treatment instead of prison.

Yesterday the Budget Conference Committee in Sacramento voted to stop funding Prop 36 entirely. If approved by the Assembly and State Senate many programs that are qualified to provide treatment will close.

This does not mean that those first time offenders would go to prison instead as Prop 36 is not a program, but a California law. This prevents judges from placing first time offenders in prison as they must defer to treatment.  If this cut is approved it would mean they would neither receive treatment or prison.

Those unable to pay for treatment themselves will have to wait in even longer lines, longer than the three months many are waiting now. Many will die of addictive illness while waiting to get help.

We’ve recently added more beds to Father Alfred Center in preparation, but it won’t make up for all the other beds in programs that could possibly close.

By combining affordable housing with services, supportive housing allows low-income and formerly homeless people to live stable, dignified lives. Supportive housing is especially beneficial for people with serious health issues that may contribute to chronic homelessness: issues like substance abuse, mental illness, or HIV.

It is very important to remember, especially in difficult budget times, is that the support service component in supportive housing is just as important as the housing component. Unfortunately, one of the budget balancing strategies that San Francisco is considering this year is to remove some of the supportive services from supportive housing programs. On April 22,  St. Anthony Foundation joined together with agencies who provide supportive housing to speak to the Board of Supervisors Budget and Finance Committee about the importance of supportive services in supportive housing.

St. Anthony’s was glad to support our friends in the supportive housing community as they pointed out that supportive housing saves money by helping formerly homeless people avoid evictions, shelters and expensive emergency services. The employment, money management, counseling, and health services provided in supportive housing help keep people housed while promoting dignity and respect and preventing unnecessary spending on emergency services.

A cost-saving program that helps promote dignity and respect while allowing some of San Francisco’s most vulnerable residents a safe secure place to live and receive services? That should be something that everyone should agree is a good investment!

Personal And Economic Recovery

Larry’s hand moves over the men’s coat rack with the same articulation he uses in conversation– thoughtful, astute, measured, and gentle.

“Nice fabric. A little big, I can tell already,” he notes, as his hand pauses on one crisply hung jacket before making its way to the next. The afternoon light spills across racks of clean, well cared for trousers, shirts, jackets, and shoes in St. Anthony’s Clothing and Housewares’ bright retail-like store, where no money is exchanged but where thoughtfully donated clothing is made available for free to those in need of an interview outfit, a warm coat, or just a clean set of clothing. Our program supplies free clothing, appliances, and linens to thousands of people each year. In 2008 alone we provided more than 29,000 guests like Larry with a wardrobe to suit the paths they are forging.

Larry’s story is one of the many of those who are trying to piece their lives together in a difficult economy with the overlapping challenges of unemployment, addiction, and affordable housing shortages. Many city services vital to help people get back on track have been reduced or made unavailable altogether as a result of federal, state, and city budget cuts. For those whose challenges have frayed their lines of familial support, the integrated service-sites that address these compounded obstacles are more needed than ever.

Six months ago, Larry was sleeping in the bus terminal at night and making his way to the St. Anthony Dining Room in the day for what was often his only meal. A veteran of the hotel catering business, he had worked at the same hotel for ten years, beginning with waiting tables, and progressing to convention show management, planning, and setup. While his professional career flourished, his personal life became more challenging. As his 15 year relationship dissolved, he fell into a spiral of drinking binges and a deep depression. Soon he was unable to maintain employment, friendships, or hope.

The day he saw a sign at St. Anthony’s for a program that could help him with his drinking, he had a glimmer of hope. He enrolled in the Father Alfred Center for recovery from alcohol addiction, started volunteering in the Dining Room, and was able to contribute his hospitality industry experience to the St. Anthony Dining Room meal service. Six months later, he is ready to re-enter the job market.

“I immediately started feeling more like my own self, like I could do something. Sleeping at the bus station wasn’t OK, and I had something to offer.”

This is Larry’s second week in his job search after spending a month preparing resumes and honing his interview skills at the Employment Program and Technology Lab (a partnership with Network Ministries) and six months in St. Anthony’s Father Alfred Center drug and alcohol recovery program. While the Father Alfred Center helps men in recovery develop life and employment skills, at three times the drug and alcohol recovery success rate of other city recovery programs, available jobs in the San Francisco metroarea are down by 3,000 since last year. Unemployment in San Francisco is nearly double what it was in 2008 making the competition for jobs tighter than ever. While lining up the steps to regain employment, low- and no-income jobseekers have an additional obstacle: obtaining “hire me” clothes on a strict budget. With the help of the Clothing and Housewares Program Larry now has in his possession an interview outfit that will signal to a prospective employer his readiness to be a reliable, valued employee.

As he selects a camel-colored jacket and tan trousers, Larry reflects on the feeling of hope that he has for his job search. He eyes the subtle pattern in a dress shirt, pressing it against the jacket before folding a tie across the top of both.

“I’m really hopeful and encouraged with what I’ve seen so far. It’s only been a week, but right now I’m OK. I’m taking it slow, I’m out there every day, either online or knocking on doors or printing resumes.”

Subscribe to the St. Anthony Foundation YouTube Channel and watch more first hand the stories from St. Anthony’s guests and clients.

Many people think of poverty programs as schools or hospitals. Poor people come to the program, they use the tools they are given, they graduate from poverty. They find the cause of their poverty, they are cured.  The next group comes in.

At St. Anthony’s we have thousands of guests who do graduate. They learn new skills or they learn to speak English. They get clean and sober or they get health insurance. They find a job that will allow them to live independently.

But many of our guests face multiple barriers to participating in society. They live with both physical disabilities and mental health problems. They struggle with an addiction and they struggle with illiteracy. They are elderly, which is not a disease and has no cure.

These are the guests we hope to keep connected to our programs, not to graduate. If they keep coming back to St. Anthony Social Work Center, they can access benefits and keep the stable housing we’ve helped them find and get help managing their limited incomes. If they keep coming to the Free Medical Clinic, they can get help managing a chronic illness and get medication on the spot, so they don’t forget to take it. If they remain in the Madonna Senior Residence, they can built strong relationships with other residents and blossom anew by aging in place.

These are the guests we hope will stay in community with St. Anthony Foundation. Their lives will become more stable; they may even become more self-sufficient. But their strength lies in staying together, not in “graduating.” And by remaining in community here, they make our community strong.

Former San Francisco Giants pitcher Frank Williams died last week at the age of 50 from a heart attack.

In his prime Williams appeared in 333 games in the majors. He was 24-14 and 3.00 ERA during the span of his career.

In the later part of his life Frank, a man suffering with the disease of alcoholism, was appearing in homeless shelters and detox centers across the the United States and Canada.

A sad reminder that not even our heroes are immune to homelessness.