At St. Anthony’s, the Social Work Center partners with Bay Area organizations such as Seasons of Sharing and Catholic Charities to provide back-rent and security deposit assistance to clients. At the Social Work Center, we screen clients to see if they might qualify for rental assistance requirements of the funding sources. If Clients qualify to apply, they complete the funding organization’s rental assistance application with a St. Anthony’s Social Worker during an appointment. As you can see in the infograph, there are a variety of reasons that clients need rental assistance and what type of rental assistance they are seeking.

Brooke Goalen is an intern this semester in St. Anthony’s Social Work Center. She is a senior at Calvin College and a psychology major, and is doing her internship through the Westmont in San Francisco Off-Campus program.

In the Social Work Center at St. Anthony’s, the most common forms of housing for our guests are SRO Hotels, Permanent Housing, or Shelters. The Social Work Center offers client information and referrals to different types of housing in the Bay Area. The SWC also offers services with Back Rent and Security Deposit Assistance, in addition to partnering with the Tenderloin Tech Lab to host a monthly housing search workshop. The remainder of our guests (25 %) identify as either homeless or living in a non-permanent housing situation.

Brooke Goalen is an intern this semester in St. Anthony’s Social Work Center. She is a senior at Calvin College and a psychology major, and is doing her internship through the Westmont in San Francisco Off-Campus program.

2012 is coming to an end as we approach the holiday season. The end of the year carries many mixed emotions and struggles for everyone. As we enter the holiday season, some people have a positive outlook on the last few months of the year because these months imply holiday food, special gifts, and family gatherings. Unfortunately, the majority of people struggle to keep a positive mindset due to the holidays being associated with busyness, heightened financial strains, family issues, and grievance of those who have passed away (Halal, 2006).

Mental Health America (2006) researched and discovered the top stressors that people experience during a holiday season: “finances, memories of lost loved ones and too many activities.” The other common stressors being: “over-indulgence, being alone, and time with family” (Halal, 2006). The researchers found that these stressors are generally more intense and common in the lives of parents, people of color, and/or people without a college degree (Halal, 2006).

The populations of people that are served at St. Anthony Foundation are no exception to the findings in the aforementioned research. Compared to holidays for the American population as a whole, the holidays for our guests are just as stressful, if not more stressful. Our guests struggle with the same kinds of stressors (finances, being alone, etc.) mentioned in the research, yet also tend fall into some of the population categories in which the stressors can be intensified (Halal, 2006).

At the Social Work Center, staff work to make St. Anthony’s a stable community and a de-stressor throughout the year, but especially during the holiday season. While still continuing with regular food pantry visits, emergency food boxes, and other stabilizing services, the Social Work Center (SWC) strives to make the holidays a less stressful time for our guests by offering different seasonal services and events. The SWC partners with local organizations to provide personalized holiday presents to the families and singles that utilize the Social Work Center. The SWC is also involved in the Curbside Donation Drive, where people from the community can donate food, clothing, and hygiene products to St. Anthony’s. Through generous donations, the SWC has the ability to offer special holiday food to guests, such as turkeys, cranberries, etc. For the SWC clients, the highlight of the holiday season is the SWC Christmas Party. Social Workers can give invitations to their clients for a holiday party where they can have fun, eat delicious food, socialize, and relax amidst the other stressors that may be burdening them during the holidays.

Halal, J. (2006, December 7). Survey Identifies Top Holiday Stressors, Who’s Most Stressed: Finances #1, People of Color Feel It Most. Mental Health America. Retrieved from http://www.nmha.org/index.cfm?objectid=0F7D2087-1372-4D20-C8469F6166842DE3.

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.

PERSONALISM We seek to honor diversity and treat all people with dignity and respect. We recognize that each person is worthy and valued simply by being. We seek simplicity and flexibility in our operations, and cherish our relationships with one another.

On St. Anthony’s website we highlight the Franciscan values that guide our organization, and one of those values is Personalism. One of the ways we try to embody that value is by “seeking simplicity and flexibility in our operations…”

As a social worker at St. Anthony Foundation I value how the Social Work Center is able to really embrace the value of Personalism. At the Social Work Center we are able to meet clients wherever they are at, and journey with them from that point.

As a result, my interactions are able to be flexible and unique. Some individuals I am able to see on a weekly basis through our payee services. Still others have turned into weekly counseling sessions where clients are able to begin deep healing in themselves and allow me to journey with them.

And for those who aren’t in a place of as much stability, we are able to reach out through our drop-in hours. By coming to drop-in hours, individuals whose lives may be too chaotic to make or keep a scheduled appointment can still access a social worker. At that point, Social Workers are able to let the client know that they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect and that our doors are always open for them to come back and address more barriers that keep them feeling desperate.

One more area the Social Work Center is able to be flexible in meeting our clients is through engaging and being available for guests in the Dining Room for two hours during service every weekday.

I find it a rewarding challenge and a joy to be able to journey beside people and be present with them, whether for the short-term as they experience temporary crisis, or longer-term, when I am able to stand beside clients as they weather waves of both despair and hope.

Sarah Spellman is a Social Worker in St. Anthony’s Social Work Center.

I’ve only been the manager of the Free Clothing Program (FCP) for a couple of months now, and since this is my first attempt at a blog, I figured there was no better way of relating what we do than to describe a typical day here, or my typical day here. And though it’s only been two months, I’m already smiling at the word ‘typical,’ because each new day seems to also bring a new definition to that word.

One day it might be helping Donovan who is recovering from surgery and who has been pushing himself along in his wheelchair with only socks on his feet; or Pastor Doris, who I met in Union Square and who eats in the Dining Room every day but hasn’t been to the Clothing Program in a number of years because she had a bad experience the last time she came, but who I was able to convince to come back, and now is a new regular; or Travis who has been wearing size 15 shoes on his size 16 feet, and even after we miraculously found him two pairs of shoes in his size, was still in tremendous pain due to the urgent need for surgery on his right foot, but, with the help of Susan at the Social Work Center, was able to procure emergency funds to at least get him a good pair of Timberlands that fit properly until he is able to have the surgery he so desperately needs; or David who always needs a blanket because people are always stealing his blanket.

So I suppose the only thing typical about a typical day is the exhilarating, heart-wrenching, jaw-dropping experience that each new one will bring.

However, ‘typical’ is the word I’ve chosen, so we’ll go with it (it’s my first blog after all). In a typical year, we provide free clothing and basic amenities to approximately 40,000 men, women and children. Along with our set schedules of men’s, family’s and women’s services, we also assist guests who have emergency needs, like Donovan, Travis and David. The need is great, but thanks to the tremendous efforts of the community through volunteering and donations, we are able to meet it as best we can.

Stay tuned for more updates from the FCP.

Allan Shapiro is the manager of St. Anthony’s Free Clothing Program.

The new U.S. dietary guidelines, which recommend eating more potassium, dietary fiber, vitamin D and calcium, and avoiding saturated fat and added sugar, can add almost 10% on average to your yearly food bill. For many low income Americans the “luxury” of eating healthy is all but unobtainable. For most of our clients the best option to stay full and stay on budget is to purchase processed foods from fast food restaurants and corner stores. These meals are typically high in fat and sugar and low in valuable nutrients, compromising client’s overall health and ability to avoid medical complications like diabetes and obesity.

At St. Anthony Foundation we connect low income patients with fresh foods so they have a chance to meet personal as well as nationwide community health goals. Our social work center guides clients in where and how to use their food stamps to purchase produce from local farmers markets. Our Fresh Fruits and Veggies program connects Medical Clinic patients with healthy food options, which we in turn teach patients how to prepare during our Clinic Cooking Classes. These classes are geared towards diabetic and overweight patients looking to manage their diets and offer tasty recipes that are low in sugar, salt, and fat. In our Dining Room, meals area always served with a vegetable and a side of fresh fruit.

At St. Anthony Foundation we aim to make healthy food options accessible for patients and clients by connecting them with services and providing healthy, nutritious meals. It is our hope that one day healthy food will be an option for everyone — not simply those with greater economic means.

The Tenderloin Technology Lab in collaboration with their new intern, Antonio Renteria, and the St. Anthony Foundation Social Work Center will be beginning a new series of workshops that are focused on encouraging our guests to become more self-sufficient. These workshops will focus on finding housing, medical/dental, and mental health resources online. The three classes are running on Monday afternoons from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm starting July 11th. We are all excited about the prospect of expanding the possibilities in the Tech Lab to improve the lives of our guests by giving them access to the internet “help buttons” that can help alleviate  some of their issues.

Today, Dudley has a home, stable health, and the energy to do the activities that let him feel like himself. Two years ago he was in hospice care, and was not expected to live.

Dudley first arrived in San Francisco from Los Angeles in 1992, and found himself in the Tenderloin without a support network or stable footing. “My family’s all scattered,” he says.

It wasn’t long before he found his way to St. Anthony Dining Room for a meal, and later enrolled in what was then the Employment Program. But he had been dealt some crushing blows. Dudley had long struggled with alcoholism; he took his first drink at the age of 5. When he was also diagnosed as HIV positive, he became a regular client at the St. Anthony Social Work Center.

Dudley’s health continued to decline, until he was one day hospitalized with HIV/AIDS-related pneumonia. “The hardest part was my willingness to take meds,” Dudley says. “I wanted to check out. I believe that my mental state was so bad it affected me physically.” (more…)

Times are hard and you have your own worries. But you know that things aren’t any easier for the people who come to St. Anthony Foundation for help.

We have some easy ways you can keep giving, or even give more, to buy food, clothing, and healthcare for your low-income neighbors. Here’s Easy Giving Number 4.

Do a Drive.

Organize your family, friends, social group, professional association, church or congregation to collect something the guests at St. Anthony’s need.

1. Do a clothing drive. St. Anthony’s clothing supply has run pretty low. We’re putting out the call for more clothes: washed, repaired, and ready to wear.

Bring them to the Free Clothing Program @ 101 8th Street and Mission.

See Ty Hilkert’s blog last week for a list of what we need and what we can’t take. (Or call at 415-592-2826 or email thilkert@stanthonysf.org.)

2. Do a sock drive. We’ve talked about a sock party in your home. Your guests bring $5 and a pair of socks for our guests. Try a sock drive without the party. There is no time of year we do not need them. There is no St. Anthony’s program that does not use them. We can provide boxes or bins or simply send signs for you to make your own collection bin.

3. Do a toiletries drive. New, unopened, any size:

Bring them to our offices @ 150 Golden Gate or to the Free Clothing Program @ 101 8th Street and Mission.

4. Assemble self-care bags. New, unopened, travel size only.

Put the bags in a shopping bag or box addressed to “Social Work Center.”

Bring them to 150 Golden Gate, between Jones and Leavenworth.

If people like you take simple steps like this, we really will get through the hard times together.