When I first passed through the doors of St. Boniface, I was awestruck with beauty. In every possible direction were ornate stained glass windows, towering marble columns, and sacred relics. All of this illuminated by hundreds of meticulously arranged candles. Yet these weren’t the captivating sights which left me utterly speechless. Honestly, these adornments paled in comparison to one sight which possessed a simple but staggering beauty: the congregate of the homeless peacefully slumbering in the pews.

From 6 a.m to 1 in the afternoon, those who enter the Tenderloin may find refuge in St. Boniface during the daytime hours. Here in these 76 aged wooden pews, those who face the perils of homelessness may finally experience hours of undisturbed sleep. The plain fact is the houseless are often denied rest on a regular basis. This is partly due to the city’s recent ban forbidding individuals to sleep or lay in public walkways, along with many shelters shutting their doors in the daytime.

The Gubbio Project, which started up in the Spring of 2004, seeks to provide the necessity of sleep to those in need. In addition to providing shelter, they distribute blankets, serve food on special days, and offer use of clean restrooms.

Laura Slattery, executive director of the project, spoke with me about our homeless neighbors and the project’s simple mission to care for them. The Gubbio Project’s mission is quite simple,  to do away with one more challenge which the homelss must face- and to bring them peaceful rest in this chaotic world.

Many have wondered why these people have coped with their trauma through substance abuse or apparent self-destructive behaviour. Although Laura Slattery would say you must alter your line of thought and realize this, “We should forget about questioning why the homeless have dealt with life in this way, but rather realize after all they have gone through and seen- what a true miracle it is that they are still here”.

In my wanderings around the church, I visited with a woman by the name of Ivy, a self-proclaimed regular. She lamented on how utterly worn she was from tumultuous events in her life as of late. With every step forward to a better life, the loss of a potential job, depression and struggles with addiction took her back to the starting point. As our conversation was approaching it’s end, she cast a smile upward to the magnificently painted ceiling, and in one perfect moment made all the work of the Gubbio Project worth it, “Despite everything, this is the one place I really have peace”.

Tyler Merkel is a Communications & Digital Media intern at St. Anthony’s

Today is the deadline for Californians  to register to vote.  This year, for the first time ever, Californians can register to vote online!  Online voter registration is great, because the online form is much simpler to access and to use than the paper form.   But what about people who don’t have access to computers?  We’re lucky to have our Tenderloin Technology Lab, a partnership between St. Anthony’s and Network Ministries, which provides free computer access and training to more than 1,000 homeless and low income people each year.  Our Tech Lab is so important because it allows people who wouldn’t usually have access to them to use computers to connect with loved ones, access services, learn employment skills, and even to register to vote.

We’ve also been reaching out to our guests the old fashioned way, by going to our programs with paper registration forms and asking our guests if they’d like to register.  We have been reaching out to our Dining Room guests while they wait in line for a meal, offering them information about voter registration and the chance to register.  Many of our guests are homeless, and some of our homeless guests are confused about how to register to vote.  The good news is that you don’t need a street address in order to be able to vote.  The California voter registration form allows people to describe where they live (using cross streets, for example) if they don’t have a residential address.  Homeless people can use a P.O. Box, General Delivery, or the address of a social service provider that accepts mail for them as their mailing address.

As a non-profit social service organization, St. Anthony’s participates only in non-partisan voter registration and education activities.  We never encourage our guests to vote for one candidate instead of another.  We do help people who may not otherwise have the opportunity to register to vote so that their voice, no matter who they’re voting for or where they sit on the political spectrum, is heard.

My favorite voter registration moment this year occurred about a month ago in our Dining Room waiting room.  A lady who was waiting in line for lunch saw me at the voter registration table and sat down.  She asked for a registration form and a pen, and then took a bottle of purple nail polish out of her pocket.  She painted her nails while filling out the form and singing a rousing version of Prince’s “Purple Rain”.   I was grateful for the concert and I’m glad that she will have the opportunity to vote on November 6.

Steven, a 26-year-old graduate of Academy of Art University, found himself newly homeless after a series of unfortunate incidents, including having his laptop, portfolio, and clothes stolen.  Hungry and looking for help, Steven made his way to St. Anthony’s Dining Room.  After coming in to sit down for a warm meal, one of our Guest Services staff noticed he had a serious limp.  They helped him upstairs to St. Anthony’s Medical Clinic, where his feet were soaked in iodine to reduce the pain and inflammation.  Rather than go barefoot, Steven squeezed his size ten feet into size eight shoes.

The Clinic referred him to our Free Clothing Program for clean clothes, a backpack, toiletries, and a new pair of size ten shoes.  Now, Steven is working with our Social Work Center and Technology Lab to pursue housing and employment options.  Like thousands of guests who come to the Dining Room, Steven discovered a brighter future at St. Anthony’s; one that starts with a warm meal and helping hand.

For 62 years, St. Anthony Foundation’s programs have been a gateway for at-risk San Franciscans to reclaim their sense of dignity and progress towards stability.

Click here to learn more about all of our services.

“Did you know the most crime-ridden intersection in the state of California is right here at Turk and Taylor?” exclaimed Del Seymour, founder of the one-man show Tenderloin Walking Tours. I pondered this thought for a few seconds, imagining the expanse of California stretching out for miles on end, and digesting the fact that within a stone’s throw of where I spend a good number of my waking hours, all too many San Franciscans fall victim to a relentless wave of crime statistics. I couldn’t dwell on this thought for long as Del continued to inform me that right across the street in a building that now houses a state-run halfway home sat the Compton Café, the birthplace of the Gay Rights movement as we know it today. According to Wikipedia, in 1966, a group of “cross-dressers, hustlers, and street queens” protested the Café’s refusal to serve them and engaged in a riot with police, triggering an event that now is remembered as the pre-cursor to the Stonewall riots.

Earlier this week, I had the privilege of spending a morning with Del here at St. Anthony’s. It is my job as the Communications Manager to situate our organization in the topsy-turvy world of media relations, particularly with issues that address poverty, social justice, and quality of life for all residents of San Francisco and the Bay Area. Within this world, there is a constant stream of blogs, Facebook posts, tweets, and instagrams pouring into every nook and cranny of our information sphere. In rare cases do we get to hear directly from the people who live, work, and breathe these stories every day of their lives.

I could have stayed in my office all day chatting with Del. I’ve spent over 10 years working for St. Anthony’s and in ten minutes, I felt as if I had walked into the Tenderloin for the first time. Nearly every week, Del walks people around the neighborhood, opening eyes and doors into what is one of the most complicated, diverse, and bustling 20 blocks in the country.

The origin of Tenderloin Walking Tours, much like the neighborhood itself, evolved from worlds colliding. It began on an ill-fated day in Del’s previous life as a cab driver when he ran three timed, red lights on Folsom street, trying to pacify an unruly customer. While he lost his license to drive, he gained a fast pass into a job that comes to Del as naturally as ice cream on a hot summer day.

“I love this city,” Del emphatically explains. “If I see a tourist with a map, I’ll ask them, ‘Hey, you need some help? Let me show you the way.’” Through his tours, Del has shown people the way into the heart of the Tenderloin and San Francisco.

To sign up for a tour yourself, check out his website, www.tlwalkingtours.com. If you’re like me, you’ll gladly forgo your own map of the city and let Del show you the way.

Touring the Tenderloin is a video featuring Del Seymour that was produced by Mike Kepka of the San Francisco Chronicle column, The City Exposed

Philanthropy on Foot.  Give socks today!

For those on the street, feet matter. Here’s something you can do to show you care.

When you donate new socks to St. Anthony’s, you can help make life healthier and pain-free for homeless and low income folks in San Francisco.

Access to shoes and socks is often limited for homeless men and women living in shelters and on the street.

Blisters and infections are common conditions that can lead to more severe health issues.  Wet feet,  ill-fitting shoes, constant standing and diseases like diabetes take their toll.

The best way to prevent such conditions is to keep feet clean and dry—very difficult if you spend your days outside.

Here’s how you can help:

GET IT

We need 5,000 pairs of socks this year.
We’re asking all of San Francisco to get new socks to those who need them most.

Short on time? DONATE HERE and we’ll buy the socks.

Donate men’s socks, especially white athletic or outdoor socks. Socks need to be new.
Get a team together or you can donate individually.

SHARE IT

On our Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest

Share a sock story, a photo, or ask the Sock Diva a question on our Socks in the City Tumblr.

Take photos and video along the way and send them via email or Facebook as an invitation to friends, family, and coworkers to participate in the drive.

PLAY IT

Host a sock party
Have a competition
Sock bomb a colleague’s office
Organize a “sock mob”

BRING IT

Socks may be mailed or dropped off to:

Sock Diva @ St. Anthony Foundation
150 Golden Gate Avenue
San Francisco CA 94102
8:30-4:30 Mon. – Fri.

For questions, large donations, or to arrange to have a donation barrel delivered, e-mail us.

Back in June, St. Anthony’s partnered with anti-hunger organizations and advocacy groups from across California to help educate people about the SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) Restaurant Meals Program. The Restaurant Meals Program is part of the the CalFresh program (the new name for California’s food stamp program) and it allows CalFresh recipients who live in a place without a cooking facility (a Single Room Occupancy hotel room, for example), or who are homeless, elderly, or disabled to use their CalFresh benefits at a restaurant.

We talked to our Dining Room guests about their use of the program and its importance in helping them obtain healthy meals. Some of their stories were recounted here. After hearing the stories of our Dining Room guests, we realized how important both the Restaurant Meals program and our Dining Room are to low income people who can’t afford food and who don’t have the ability to cook their own food at home.

We are proud to have helped with the making of this video, which does a great job of telling the stories of some of the Californians who benefit from Restaurant Meals. Please check out the video and the SNAP Restaurant Meals website to learn more about this important program.

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.

The numbers from this year’s official homeless count are in, reflecting only a slight increase in the number of people without a home.  According to the report, there were 6,514 homeless people at the time of the count, up only 2% from the last count in 2007.

I’m certainly not the first to say it but it’s worth mentioning the potential flaws in the logic of the count.  For one, it’s taken on January 27, in the thick of San Francisco’s rainiest, coldest season, on a day when weather is likely to compel many to seek temporary shelter with family or friends, if available.  When those connections are worn thin, of course, people end up back on the streets or in shelters, though by then far from the gaze of homeless counters.  I wonder what the count would be like on, say, a sunny day in August.

Which brings me to the second point: how are we to get an accurate impression of the homeless population from just one day of counting?  And, without actually talking to people–volunteers are instructed to count solely by sight–how are we to be sure the count is accurate?  I would think that an average of several days of counting, coupled with subject interviews, would yield a more accurate number and a more comprehensive understanding of the issues facing the homeless.

It will be interesting to see how the count pans out during the next pass, as the economy forces more out of their homes and into marginal housing or the streets.  Will these people count, or will they remain invisible?

As you may know, California’s recently adopted budget package calls for a May 19th special election.  Included on the ballot is Proposition 1E, which seeks to divert $460 million over two years from Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) revenues to the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) program.

The acronyms are a mouthful, but what they stand for is important: MHSA was established through Proposition 63 in 2004 to expand and reform county mental health service systems targeting uninsured, homeless and low-income residents; EPSDT is the child health component of Medicaid that ensures a range of pediatric care for low-income children.

Both of these sound like services worthy of promoting, right?  Which is why I have trouble with the proposition: it scapegoats one underserved community (low-income adults with mental illness) for another (low-income children), and belies that fact that what we are really dealing with is another drastic cut to vital social services in California.

Groups like the California Mental Health Directors Association agree, and in a recent report detail why the proposition is bad news.