St. Anthony Foundation Receives Grants, Investments Totaling $2.4 Million

PRESS RELEASE

Media Contact:
Sally Haims | Chief Marketing and Communications Officer
(415) 254-5884 | SHaims@stanthonysf.org

Grant funding will support New Welcome Center and Women’s and Children’s Services     

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (December 13, 2023) – St. Anthony Foundation, committed to providing pathways to stability for thousands of San Franciscans in need annually, announced it is the recipient of $2,400,000 in transformational charitable grants from #StartSmall Initiative and Crankstart Foundation. Both grants support St. Anthony’s efforts to permanently move people out of homelessness.

St. Anthony’s new Welcome Center project is an outside curbside access point on Golden Gate Avenue that refers prospective guests with warm handoffs to needed resources at St. Anthony’s and nearby community-based organizations, reducing barriers to services. The Welcome Center is staffed by St. Anthony’s Guest Navigators, a highly-skilled team that engages guests thanks to a combination of personal lived experience and on–the–job training. In the first month since its launch (September 18, 2023 – October 26, 2023), the Welcome Center totaled 1,149 referrals to services, including primary medical care, behavioral health services, and job training, for 682 unique individuals.

“We offer 10 different services ranging from food in the Dining Room to medical care in our Clinic; however, guests may not know about our range of services,” said Nils Behnke, CEO of St. Anthony Foundation. “That’s exactly why the Welcome Center is here – to work with them on a personal level, treat them with respect and dignity, build relationships with them, and resolve their needs on their path to stability, whether that’s within programs that we offer or other organizations.”

St. Anthony’s new Women’s and Children’s Services program provides temporarily sheltered families experiencing domestic violence and homelessness with critical services to help them rebuild their lives, including medical care, job training, computer literacy classes, referrals to permanent housing, and childcare. Each family benefits from personalized, integrated care plans for up to three years.

#StartSmall is a philanthropic Initiative founded by Jack Dorsey, co-founder and former CEO of Twitter (now X) and the co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Block, Inc. (formerly Square). The #StartSmall philanthropic initiative is focused on funding global crisis relief, girls’ health and education, and open internet development.

“Mr. Dorsey has always been a selfless champion of philanthropic causes, and #StartSmall’s contribution to our new program will help hundreds of women and children exit poverty and homelessness each year,” said Behnke. “Women and their children experience poverty and homelessness differently than men, so we aspire to provide complete, fully integrated care to meet their needs and help them build a firm foundation toward a more stable life. St. Anthony’s is leading the way for innovative ways to better serve our guests and alleviate homelessness.”

McKinsey and Company, the leading global management consulting company, advised St. Anthony’s on the expansion of the Women’s and Children’s Services program and the creation of the Welcome Center project, following extensive research and analysis of the complex state of homelessness.

Founded in 1950 by Franciscan Father Alfred Boeddeker, St. Anthony Foundation provides essential and life-changing services to uplift thousands of people experiencing addiction, homelessness, or poverty, and offers one of the broadest portfolios of social services – nearly all under one roof. The foundation provides pathways to a more stable life through three pillars of services: Essential Services (Dining Room, Free Clothing Program, Hygiene Hub, Community Safety Services (CSS)); Health Care (Medical Clinic, Father Alfred Center recovery program); Care Integration (Companion Program of Care, Tenderloin Tech and Computer Lab, Resource Center for social services, Workforce Development/Transitional Employment Program, and Women’s and Children’s Services).

About St. Anthony Foundation

In the Tenderloin’s struggle with poverty, addiction, and mental illness, St. Anthony Foundation has been a beacon of consistency, companionship, and caring for more than 70 years. We provide our guests with a range of services—from a place to rest or take a shower, clothing, and addiction recovery, to meals, medical care, and workforce development. At St. Anthony’s, we take a different approach, one that delivers meaningful results — Hope. Stability. Renewal.

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