Among the most cherished items that will be collected are hand-knit scarves which will be given out to Dining Room guests on Christmas Day. To date, over 3,000 scarves have been received from 20 states. The curbside donation drive opens on Saturday, December 18th at 9am, where clean, cared-for warm clothing, canned or dried bulk foods, and monetary donations can be dropped off to St. Anthony’s “donation valets”. As more and more people turn to the 60-year old non-profit for basic necessities as a result of the current economic crisis, the support from everyday citizens is needed, welcomed, and appreciated. (more…)

Congress returns to work this week, and they need to hear from us!  Federal unemployment benefits are scheduled to end on November 30, 2010,  unless Congress acts now to continue the program through 2011.  If unemployment benefits are allowed to expire, 2 million people will lose benefits in December 2010 (including 225,000 Californians) and millions more will lose benefits in 2011.

Why are unemployment benefits still necessary?

The economy has been improving, but unemployed people are still struggling.  The national employment rate is 9.6%.  California’s uneployment rate is even higher than the national average, at 12.2%.  Nationwide, there is currently only one available job for every five unemployed workers.   Unemployed Americans are looking for work, but our labor market remains extremely tight, and unemployment benefits are the only lifeline available to these families until the economy improves.

Here at St. Anthony’s, we’ve seen a steady increase in people using our Tenderloin Technology Lab to find employment, and we’ve seen an increase in the number of seniors, families, and recently unemployed people in need of free meals, free clothing, or groceries from our food pantry.  We are happy to serve those in need, but we are also committed to speaking out to our lawmakers to tell them about the importance of maintaining our social safety net so that millions of Americans don’t needlessly fall into deep poverty during these difficult economic times.

Now is not the time to abandon unemployed Americans.

Tomorrow, November 16, 2010 is the national day of action on unemployment benefits.  Congress needs to hear from you!

The National Employment Law Project has a toll free number for people to call their Senators (California’s Senators are Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein) on Tuesday November 16.  The number is: 1-866-606-1189.   You can be connected automatically through their website, here.

Yesterday I spotted this “Instant Hobo” Halloween costume on display at a dollar store in The Mission. I doubt I’m the only one who can spot the painful irony of this derogatorily named costume, given the economic hardships our country has faced this year.

More homelessness for Halloween? Now that’s really scary!

Ed Note: This week’s entry was written by Katie, St. Anthony’s intern from Dartmouth College. Next week marks her final days in San Francisco. We wish Katie well and thank her for spending her winter with us!

As my two months at St. Anthonys come to a close I find myself doing a lot of reflecting. There are many things I’m going to miss: my morning chats with Indian Joe, serving trays, handing out milk, and even folding countless tiny plastic bags at the ToGo station in the dining room. However, I’ve also been contemplating some of the important things I’ve learned.

One of the primary realizations that has dawned upon me is that none of us, including myself, is that far from being in a position to need a meal in the Dining Room. By putting together statistics I’ve learned in the grantwriting department, trips to Sacramento with Colleen (the amazing advocacy coordinator) to sit in on Senate hearings, and my experiences in the dining room I’ve come to a holistic understanding of just how easy it is to have the rug pulled out from under you, so to speak. Between the economic recession, budget cuts at the city and state level that target homeless and underprivileged populations, and insufficient healthcare, many people in San Francisco (and the country) are just one cavity, one fender bender, or one unplanned pregnancy away from homelessness.

Before I came to St. Anthonys I always had a vague assumption that I would never be in such a position, that people who worked hard would be able to stay solvent. However, I’ve come to see just how much (like rent, transportation, medical care, the ability to hold a job) can be out of our of personal control. This realization has allowed me to see that the guests at St. Anthonys are not necessarily unlike myself, and has brought me renewed appreciation for their cheerfulness and kindness throughout the past two months. Although I hope one day San Francisco will no longer need St. Anthonys, for now I am thankful for the wonderful work the foundation does and for the opportunity is has given me to learn.

Some days are harder than others.

For some reason when the rain returns after a glimpse of sunlight it seems a little darker than if we just had a few rainy ones in a row.  You need that morning coffee to kick in a little harder those days.

Reading the headlines of the paper there doesn’t seem to be much in the way of uplifting news.  Budget cuts, another round of teacher pink slips, and an unrelenting concern for profit juxtaposed with a disappointing negligence toward our country’s everyday people.

As one can imagine, working in the fundraising department of a non-profit during these times is an emotional and logistical challenge.  It is my job, however, to keep faith.  And  I must say, I am in a pretty good place for that.  At St. Anthony’s I am surrounded by people keeping faith and having hope that it may be dark today, but there will be light.  Our staff, guests, supporters and neighborhood friends are all amazing reminders, and believers.

As so many know and have been touched by the gratitude expressed by our guests, I too am thankful that there is a mission and movement that I can be a part of to keep faith and remember the sunnier days ahead.

It is good to dream, but it is better to dream and work. Faith is mighty, but action with faith is mightier. Desiring is helpful, but work and desire are invincible.    –Thomas Robert Gaines

Balancing the budget on our backs makes news. When the news was broken yesterday that an additional 10% tax will be placed on Californians’ income you could hear the panic in the headlines, in small talk of distraught folks on their morning commute, and in disgruntled cocktail hour conversations.

When it’s on the backs of seniors and people with disabilities it makes rumbles, but rarely conversation and not headlines. People in California who depend on Social Security Income have lived in the same wage since 1996. Imagine that. Living on the same income that you made 13 years ago, with the cost of food, medicine, transportation going up and up each year. To add insult to injury not only has there been no inflation adjustment, but this year alone benefit levels have been cut three times.

Our 10% tax hike, after the money is done plugging this mess of a budget gap, will be returned. And no, it is not ideal, it is not something most of us want to deal with especially around the holiday season. But, perhaps it can be an eye opener, a little jolt to wake us up to the reality that so many people who are dependent on the safety-net face every budget season. They are the first in line to bear the burden of our state’s economic instability.

So when we do face these cuts and are forced to make difficult decisions now we will all have a better understanding, empathy, and perhaps even a stronger drive to speak out for those who feel the pain of these cuts the deepest.

Yesterday I was out enjoying some food at one of our city’s culinary gems.  The bill comes, $25 and some change.  I summon the server over, “You know, I don’t really feel I owe the  tax on this, so just charge that back to the city.” I cover food cost,  20 percent for tip, but no way are they getting me to pay silly taxes…

And then I wake up from this bizarro world where people opt-out of paying taxes.

Expedia Inc. and Hotwire Inc. have been ordered to pay approximately $35 million they had previously refused to pay San Francisco  in hotel occupancy taxes.  SFGate also reports that Priceline.com and Travelocity are expected to pay more than $6 million the city says they owe in unpaid taxes.  When the city is facing a $129 million deficit, these unpaid taxes would make up nearly 32% of that red.  One-third of our deficit covered right there.

LA is being faced with unexpected expenses as well.  “Already caught in a $320 million budget gap, the city is now scrambling to make up the estimated $1.4 million that it spent on police, traffic control, cleanup, and other costs” for the Michael Jackson funeral, according to a DailyFinance article.  Last month the city footed the $2 million bill for the Laker’s victory parade.

Beyond disconcerting, it is utterly disappointing that seemingly without second thoughts red lines run through health and human service programs in these city budgets, when clearly there is another option.  That giving companies, and celebrities a free pass to use up resources, and abuse tax laws is somehow acceptable.  While those most vulnerable in our communities pay more, and take deeper cuts each time around.

So…what’s up with the recession?  Economists, stock traders, hedge fund managers, bookstore clerks, the bagger at the grocery store, even the random dude standing at the corner of my apartment building screaming about the end of the world all seem to be putting forth their two cents on this topic.

A couple of weeks ago, forecasters polled by the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) generally sounded optimistic – keeping in line with views held by the Fed – predicting that via a bumpy recovery, the U.S. recession should end very soon.  This recession has been termed by many as the greatest financial disaster since the Great Depression with majority of the optimists expressing opinions that it should end by the third quarter of 2009 and the remaining advocating for either the last quarter of this year or else the first quarter of 2010.

Now before I proceed, I would like to clarify my stance on the comparison of this recession with the Great Depression.  The real estate price boom between 2000 and 2007 largely is the culprit for the most recent crisis.  Economic historians have written several papers in the last year discussing such comparisons and the major similarity would appear to be the sharp drop in the stock prices in the first year following the peak of the market.

There was a drop in the Dow of 48 percent in 1930 and a drop of 37 percent in 2008.  Yet the issue in the 1920s seems to have been propelled by a quantity boom as opposed to the more recent price boom.  The latter period was fueled by low interest rates stemming from a loose monetary policy and some so-called innovative methods for breaking down discriminatory lending practices as folks with bad credit or folks who didn’t put down much in the form of down payments were allowed to take out loans.  Even those who had credit but no real source of income were allowed to take out large mortgage loans.  The background checks and good lending practices were thrown to the wind as loans were granted left and right.  Good old Fannie and Freddie proceeded to purchase huge chunks of such loans between 2004 and 2006 and we all know what happened shortly thereafter.

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St. Anthony Foundation began back in the middle of the last century when the children of the Depression joined together to help the victims of an economy still recovering from World War II. The booms and busts of population shifts and changing job markets left some out in the cold and many lined up on Golden Gate Avenue. In today’s extremely challenging economy, St. Anthony Foundation can continue to attend to the needs of those affected by this crisis because we still depend on that higher instinct that we share with our supporters–the courage to reach out in generosity. For St. Anthony’s, that means being prepared to serve more meals in our Dining Room, which means more food to procure and more volunteers to cultivate. For those who support our work with their large and small donations, that means framing personal financial concerns within the context of those whose struggles may be more immediate or critical. For those who support our work with their volunteer time, that means inviting friends to share in their volunteer experience, as a way not just of volunteering their time, but also of moving through this economic paralysis by sharing the values of gratitude and service. And for the staff, it means longer hours, more innovative resource management, and more opportunities to cheer on those who make it through the struggle each day. The experts are telling us that, like the Great Depression, these economic developments will affect a generation. Standing with the poor through seven recessions over the past fifty-eight years tells us that the impact will reverberate even beyond that. While some may see the sacrifice, others see the opportunity to invite more gratitude and generosity into their daily lives. And while some tighten their hold and fear for their own families, others invest in those most threatened by the economy as another way of investing in their own children’s futures. We share their hope that by narrowing the chasm between the haves and have nots in this generation, we insure more opportunity for spiritual and social cohesion in the next. Perhaps these difficult times will produce another generation like the one that established St. Anthony Foundation–people pushing beyond their fears and reaching out to those in need. I offer this reflection from a new vantage point. Recently I was selected the Provincial Minister of the Franciscans. The provincial conducts many other social programs, and this promotion will enable me to guide the work of St. Anthony’s as the president of the Board of Trustees. This broader perspective has given me an even deeper appreciation of the impact St. Anthony’s has on the poorest of the poor, and on San Francisco in general. Our Deputy Director, Linda Pasquinucci has stepped in as Interim Director and will continue to attend to the day-to-day operations of the organization. And I will continue to share the inspiration I receive from our guests, staff, and volunteers. As the season moves forward, I encourage you to reach out to those in need, be it our guests or your neighbors, for whom support and encouragement may be critical. For it is truly in giving that we receive.

We’ve been so encouraged to see our friends stand by the poor when they are feeling the crunch themselves. They tell us that if they’re having trouble now, they know our guests must really be struggling.

Here are some easy ways you can help St. Anthony Foundation meet urgent needs in hard times.

Sign up for a small monthly gift. Click here and sign up for a small electronic gift which can become a regular, painless part of your home budget.

Match your gift with your employer. If you work for a company or corporation, find out if they match employee gifts to non-profits. Get a form from your Human Resources department and enclose it with your donation to St. Anthony’s.

Invite St. Anthony Foundation to your work place giving kick-off. Talk to your work place giving organizers and ask them to invite a speaker from St. Anthony Foundation to make a presentation at the event.

Throw a house party for St. Anthony’s. Invite friends, members of your church or congregation, or members of your club or professional association to your home.  Get materials and giving envelopes from St. Anthony Foundation. Serve food. Enjoy yourself and your company.

Do a sock drive or toiletry drive. Our guests always need new socks and personal care products. Always. Collect new socks, new toothbrushes, or unopened travel shampoo, lotion, and bath gel from your friends or co-workers. Deliver them to our Clothing and Housewares Program at 101 8th Street (@ Mission).

We’re fortunate to have such determined friends. Because of people who think like this, we really will get through hard times. Together.