The Faithful Fools Come on Board

SF CARES has a new collaborator!  We are delighted to announce that the Faithful Fools are now a formal collaborator with SF CARES.  They say of themselves:

The Faithful Fools Street Ministry was founded in 1998 when the ministries of the Rev. Kay Jorgensen and Sr. Carmen Barsody, OSF converged in the Tenderloin District of San Francisco.

Today the Faithful Fools learn and educate through engaging in relationships with people everywhere on the economic spectrum, from those who are poor and/or living outside to those who are housed and wealthy.    

Walking and working together people of privilege and people who are impoverished help one another bridge gaps and shift perceptions that inhibit personal and social change. We work to build community by breaking through boundaries that separate us, such as economic power, religious beliefs, class, race, gender, ethnicity, and together we discover what connects us.

Our programs include Educational Street Retreats in the U.S. and Nicaragua for individuals and groups from schools, universities, civic and faith-based organizations; Daily accompaniment of individuals living on the streets, in residential hotels, and people struggling with mental illness,  depression, addictions and isolation from all walks of life; Meditation four mornings a week; Somatic Experiencing (SE) a practice that is aimed at relieving and resolving the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental and physical trauma-related health problems; Arts program which includes monthly poetry readings and film nights, a textile hat workshop, a gallery to exhibit people’s visual art, and sponsoring publications of poetry anthologies of the people in the Tenderloin and beyond; Advocacy through participating in the Community Advisory Board of Tom Waddell Clinic that serves the homeless population, helping coordinate the Tenderloin Health and Safety Fair and serving as the fiscal agent for that event, and serving on the Board of the Welcome Ministry, as well as advocating for services and just policies before the City Supervisors; Internship and Field Ed site for seminarians, social workers and community advocates.

Do you find yourself wanting to take a deep breath at the end of that last paragraph?  I did.  Yes, they really do do all that.  And do it well.  And with deep caring and good humor.  Stop by at 234 Hyde one day and see for yourself.  Come meditate, or for the Bible study Tuesday morning or the writing group Tuesday afternoon, or for a one day street retreat on the third Saturday of most months.   I guarantee you won't regret it.  The rest of we here at SF CARES are tremendously excited to welcome such an active, vibrant organization into our collaboration as we continue to expand our circle of care in San Francisco.

Community Dinner Needs Hosts

Did you know that many church feeding programs, such as St. Anthony’s and Glide, do not serve dinner on Saturday nights?  Saturday Night can be the hardest time for those who need a meal to find one.  Welcome tries to at least somewhat fill this gap on the second and fourth Saturday of each month by hosting a Community Dinner at Old First Presbyterian.  At each dinner we serve 200 - 300 people a nutritious dinner in a warm, respectful environment. 

This meal is a cut above many other free meals in the City.  The meal is served restaurant style to our guests at their tables. Sometimes, one of our guests will offer to entertain the others by playing the grand piano located in the hall where we serve dinner.  When the serving slows down, we eat with our guests and we encourage our volunteers to do the same.  Often we have socks or other clothing or toiletries to offer our guests. 

Unsurprisingly, we have seen an uptick in the number of guests coming to the Community Dinners over the last year.  We are doing all right on volunteers to serve (though we could use a few more!) but what we really need is more groups to buy food and prepare the meal.  The kitchen at Old First is well outfitted and there is always an experienced person on hand to help volunteers with whatever they need.  Right now we are looking for groups to cover any of the fourth Saturdays through the summer:  June 23^rd, July 28^th or August 25^th.  We can accommodate large groups, or if you only have a few people to cook, we will get additional volunteers to help you serve. 

If you like the idea of providing a meal when it is most needed and of serving in an environment that respects the dignity of our guests give us a call at 650-673-3572 or email us at sfcare@saintpaulus.org.

What’s New at SF CARES?

Spring has certainly the season of new things here at SF CARES!  We have a ton of seedlings at the Free Farm as one would expect, but we also have some great new projects sprouting.  I’ve already written about the backpack drive we’re doing for Project Homeless Connect's July 27th event in the Bayview focused on families.  We’ve also started a Theater of the Oppressed and are about to launch a GED class aimed at people who live outside.

Theater of the Oppressed is a technique which has been used for decades for personal and political transformation.  Participants write and perform short plays about difficulty life situations for one another and switch out parts to explore different approaches to dealing with their experiences - rehearsing for life.  It can also be used as in a variety of ways for political activism; indeed Augusto Boal, the person who originated Theater of the Oppressed, was banished from Brazil for it and then from all of South America.  You know it’s a powerful technique if it can get you kicked off a continent. 

Our workshops run from 6:30a.m. to 9:30a.m. every Tuesday at St. Paulus Lutheran Church at 950 McAllister.

Our GED class is almost ready to sprout.  We have a venue, we have our curriculum, all we need are one or two tutors who can commit to one or two mornings a week.  We’re especially looking for people who have some experience teaching.

Contact Valerie at sfcare@saintpaulus.org or 415-673-3572.

The Night Ministry: What We Do

Project Family Connect Needs Backpacks and Needs You

According to a December 4, 2011 article in the San Francisco Chronicle, "in the [San Francisco's] public schools, there are 2,200 homeless children, some in shelters, others in cars, or on couches, or in long-term hotel rooms. That's 400 more homeless children than a year ago."

Project Homeless Connect is setting out to fill the need and SF CARES is proud to help with this effort.   We hope you’ll join school groups, interfaith groups and others in the backpack drive.   We are encouraging folks to hold their own backpack drive and deliver them to us.  We are also hosting our own backpack stuffing event at St. Paulus Lutheran Church on July 15^th at 1:30 p.m. as well and would love to have you come join us.  The backpacks will be distributed at our July 27th Family Connect. 

 

How you can help:

• Purchase one or more backpacks and the supplies needed for one student (we’ll send you the list of supplies after you sign up below)
• Label the back pack with the grade and sex it’s intended for
• Deliver the backpack to Project Homeless Connect or one of our drop off locations around the Bay Area (we’ll send you information about delivery after you sign up below)
• Sign up to help now and we’ll send you supply lists for the grades we still need backpacks for.  Click here to sign up.
• Come to the backpack stuffing event on June 15^th at 1:30 and help us stuff 150 backpacks.  St. Paulus is located at 950 McAllister between Laguna and Webster.

Thank you:Sports Basement for supporting our backpack drive by offering a 10% discount to customers who mention Project Homeless Connect

Email us at sfcare@saintpaulus.org with any questions or to RSVP.

Night Ministry Open House Is Coming Soon

San Francisco Night Ministry is holding its first annual Open House! Have you ever wanted to learn more about how the Night Ministry works?  Wanted to learn more about what service opportunities are available with Night Ministry in a low pressure environment? Come enjoy good food and music and learn more about the Night Ministry.  You’ll be able to meet the Night Ministers and some of our dedicated volunteers.  This is also your opportunity to learn about how to become a Crises Line Counselor or Daytime Volunteer Corp volunteer or to find out more about our Open Cathedral services.  There’ll be a chance to hear about the great plans we have in the works to celebrate our 50^th Anniversary as well. 

Come join us at St. Mark's at 1111 O'Farrell Street in San Francisco on June 3rd from 2p.m. until 4 p.m. for fun, good conversation, good music, and good food.  This is a free event and all are welcome.

For further information contact office@sfnightministry.org or check out our Facebook event page.

Friendship Banquet Needs Hosts

We've been so busy here at SF CARES I haven't had a chance to update this blog recently.  I'll write a post soon to let you know the cool new things we've been getting up to, but today I want to highlight one of our tried and true services, The Friendship Banquet.

Every Tuesday at 4:00 (excluding the first Tuesday of each month) the Friendship Banquet serves a meal that really does feel friendly.  Nice table cloths and cloth napkins on round tables that seat eight or ten.  Real plates and glasses.  A fresh cooked meal served in four courses to each of fifty or so guests at the tables in St. Mark’s social hall.  Each person greeted warmly at the door.   Everyone who has a reservation is also living with HIV and living on the margins. 

The banquet began in 1991 but suffered a hiatus between 2005 and 2010.  Phillip who revived the banquet in 2010 says, “Our guests are people suffering from HIV and their families who are living in difficult financial situations. Each Tuesday at 4pm we provide a fresh cooked meal served restaurant style to about 50 people on average . . . .Our guests spend their time waiting at the doctor’s office, the hospital, GA or Social Security offices, the Food Bank, or on the local bus system.  The Friendship Banquet provides a time for our guests to be waited upon by our volunteers in a safe, supportive and loving atmosphere, a true change in routine.” 

Many different churches and groups take turns on different Tuesdays to provide the food and prepare and serve the meal.   These days Jordan is in charge of the Banquet.  He is there to guide groups in the meal preparation and serving.  The regular crew handles set up and takes care of the dishes afterward so the group providing the food is usually only there for an hour or two of prep and then about an hour of serving. 

We have quite a few dates available as we move through spring and into the summer; May 15^th and 22^nd, June 12^th and 19^th, July 17^th, and August 21^st and 28^th all need hosts.  Please contact us at sfcare@saintpaulus.org to let us know which date will work for your group.  Financial support to help us buy food when we do not have a group to cover is also appreciated.