It’s City Budget advocacy time!

We still have a little ways to go to get to a fair budget: we are facing about $10 million in cuts to substance abuse treatment, mental health, homeless drop-in, senior services, violence prevention, support services in supportive housing, and employment services for homeless and formerly homeless people.

Although St. Anthony’s receives no government funding, we stand up with our clients and our community partners for a fair budget that helps to support low-income and homeless San Franciscans.  Without these vital services, our community will suffer: we want to work together with our community to create a city where everyone can achieve stability and have the chance to succeed.

Today at noon we’ll be at the sidewalk in front of the Polk Street City Hall steps for a budget bake sale to remind our City leaders that the budget needs to be just a little bit sweeter for poor folks, homeless people, and seniors.

Tomorrow we’ll be participating in the hearing before the Board of Supervisors Budget Committee. Tomorrow’s hearing is a chance for anyone from the public to provide comments on the proposed budget.  Public comment will go from 10:00 am – 12:00 noon and from 1:00 pm until the last person is heard.

If you want to make your voice heard, but can’t make it to the hearing, please take a moment and write an email to Supervisor Carmen Chu, Chair of the Budget Committee.

We’ll keep you updated with the latest updates on the City Budget as we continue to support vital services for seniors, homeless people, and other low-income San Franciscans.

Here at St. Anthony’s, our attempt to sweeten up the San Francisco budget continues! Last week, we reminded our staff about the Beliensen hearing with cookies. This week, we’re letting people know about two important budget events with cupcakes!

The yummy cupcakes, made by our St. Mary’s College intern, Kendra, serve to sweeten up a budget proposal that tastes very bitter to homeless and low-income San Franciscans. There are about $10 million worth of cuts in the proposed budget that will be harmful to poor and homeless San Franciscans, including cuts to homeless drop-in services in the Tenderloin, mental health and substance abuse treatment programs, employment programs for homeless and formerly homeless people, senior services, and supportive services in supportive housing.

Join us for a budget demonstration and bake sale on the sidewalk in front of the Polk Street steps of City Hall on Thursday June 23 at 12:00 pm.  The bake sale will include drumming, singing, and educating our community about proposed cuts that will affect homeless and low-income San Franciscans.  Then, on Friday June 24, join us for public comment on the City budget before the Board of Supervisors Budget Committee.  Public Comment will be held in the board chambers (room 250 at City Hall) from 10:00 am – 12:00 noon and from 1:00 pm until the last person has been heard.

If you aren’t available to testify in person, please consider sending an email to the members of the Board of Supervisors Budget Committee to tell them to continue funding for mental health, substance abuse treatment, supportive housing, employment programs for homeless people, and homeless drop-in centers.   Go to the Board of Supervisors website to find the supervisor who represents you and send him or her an email. If you don’t live in San Francisco, send a message to Budget Committee Chair Carmen Chu. (We know that many of our volunteers and supporters live outside the City of San Francisco but still care deeply about health and social services in the City. Please explain this to Supervisor Chu when you write to her.)

If you’re not feeling inspired to make your voice heard yet, perhaps a picture of a delicious cupcake will do the trick!

What better way is there to remind people to take action for a fair City budget than with a cookie?  I can’t take credit for this great outreach idea — it came from Kendra, our wonderful advocacy intern from St. Mary’s College!

On Tuesday June 14 at 3:00 pm, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors will be holding a hearing on proposed cuts to public health programs.  Cuts have been proposed to substance abuse treatment and mental health services as well as to support services in supportive housing.  Drop-in center services for homeless people in the Tenderloin and for 6th Street SRO residents provided by our neighbors at Central City Hospitality House are also proposed to be cut.

Although St. Anthony Foundation receives no government funding, we are concerned about these proposed cuts and the negative effects that they will have on our community and on the clients of our dining room, social work center, substance abuse treatment program, free clothing program, free medical clinic, tech lab, and senior residence.

In the words of our Executive Director Shari Roeseler, whose take on budget season was featured in the San Francisco Chronicle’s Open Forum, “we must come together to find solutions that truly will increase our common good.”

We can not truly increase the common good unless all members of our community are heard.  That’s why we urge our guests, staff, volunteers, supporters, and YOU to contact the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and tell them what you think.   Go to the Board of Supervisors website to find the supervisor who represents you and send him or her an email.  If you don’t live in San Francisco, send a message to Budget Committee Chair Carmen Chu.  (We know that many of our volunteers and supporters live outside the City of San Francisco but still care deeply about health and social services in the City.  Please explain this to Supervisor Chu when you write to her.)

Special thanks to our Advocacy Intern, Kendra (pictured below) for doing outreach to let St. Anthony’s Staff know about the budget proposals and how to get involved.   She’ll be doing outreach to guests in our dining room line on Monday.  Won’t you join us in making your voice heard?