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People line up for hot to-go meals at St. Anthony's Dining Room in San Francisco March 17, 2020. St. Anthony's and other organizations that serve the homeless and other vulnerable populations are maintaining essential services under the shelter-in-place order to slow the spread of the coronavirus. (Photo by Dennis Callahan/Catholic San Francisco)
March 18, 2020
Catholic San Francisco
St. Anthony’s Foundation in San Francisco has moved many of its essential services for the homeless from indoors to curbside, providing hot meals to go, emergency clothing, extra hand sanitizers, hand-washing stations, security and neighborhood cleanup as one of the largest social service organizations in the Bay Area adjusts to life under lockdown.
Although the iconic St. Anthony’s Dining Room in the 100 block of Golden Ave., founded 70 years ago by Franciscan Father Alfred Boeddeker, is closed under a drastic shelter-in-place order implemented throughout the region March 17, clients are lining up to pick up hot meals at a window. Other forms of direct help to clients are continuing despite the ban on gatherings and orders that people stay six feet apart to hinder spread of the coronavirus.
In a March 17 social media post, St. Anthony featured a photo of a client named Robert.
"It's really cold out here,” Robert said. “I need a warm jacket and some pants. My pants right now are too tight to take off."
St. Anthony said Robert received a hot to-go meal, a jacket, pants and other resources. “This is why essential services are needed,” the agency said, directing the public to Twitter hashtag #StillServingSF for more information.
Many agencies appealed for online donations to support workers on the front lines of the pandemic.
Other service organizations are maintaining a similar spirit as San Francisco city officials looked to expand housing for the city’s estimated 8,000 homeless individuals, who are not subject to the shelter-in-place order announced March 17 by Gov. Gavin Newsom but are encouraged to seek housing. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that schools, hotels and churches are being considered.
Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of San Francisco simply announced to website visitors, “We are here.”
“Our teams are on the front lines, bravely and tirelessly supporting those in our community who are most vulnerable and at-risk,” the agency said. “Our essential services include housing and caring for people with HIV/AIDS and other chronic illnesses. We support aging adults, adults with disabilities, and immigrants. We provide food and care to seniors and families experiencing homelessness. And we give safe harbor and resources to children who have experienced trauma.
“Our programs are open and our dedicated employees continue to care for our neighbors in accordance with all the safety measures to keep them and those we serve safe. “
Catholic Charities featured a social media spotlight on caseworkers Carolyn and Moon preparing food boxes for families at 10th & Mission Family Housing and seniors at Edith Witt Senior Housing. “Their work means our seniors and families will have food,” said the agency, which serves more than 32,000 people a year through more than 30 programs serving the homeless, children and youth, low-income families, seniors, HIV/AIDS patients, immigrants, and adults with disabilities.
The St. Vincent de Paul Society of San Francisco said its shelters, homeless navigation centers and center for survivors of domestic violence are continuing uninterrupted.
“Staff are working around the clock, sometimes without access to basic supplies, like toilet paper and masks, but remain determined to keep our doors open for those who are severely impacted,” the society said in a social media post, appealing for donations.
The COVID-19 global pandemic creating havoc across the U.S. poses a stark threat to the homeless, while an economic downturn may create a new wave of homelessness, Catholic Charities workers reported in other parts of the country.Suzanne Walker, deputy director of the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Marin County, told Catholic San Francisco in a March 19 email that Vincentians are “getting creative” about how to meet the community’s needs without most of its volunteer force, which is older and at greatest risk if they contract the virus.
The SVdP free dining room in downtown San Rafael is serving to-go-only breakfasts and lunches with a small group of employees together with support from the Marin County Health and Human Services department. It served over 300 people Wednesday, she said.
The homeless are “especially at risk of serious illness from the virus,” she said, and the lack of restrooms for basic hygiene is “always a serious problem.”
Long-advocated-for public portable toilets and hand washing stations are now available to homeless people in San Rafael and could be “the silver lining in all of this chaos,” she said.
“We are also pushing for appropriate placement of people currently living outside to hotel rooms or very low-density congregate shelters so they can shelter in place like the rest of us,” said Walker.
Lost wages are having an immediate impact for some not yet homeless.
“We have a fair number of people already calling in for help with rent,” said Walker. The agency, she said, is advocating a local moratorium on evictions.
Financial donations are needed to replace traditional fifth Sunday collections benefitting SVdP, which, said Walker, “are likely to be sparse” due to the cancellation of public Masses.
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul of San Mateo County is facing similar volunteer shortages for the same reason as in Marin, said spokesperson Krissy Lagomarsino in a March 20 email, but others have stepped up to help keep services going. Homeless Help Centers in San Mateo and South San Francisco have restricted hours with altered methods of bagged food and mail distribution, and the Redwood City center is operating weekdays in conjunction with the city's Fair Oaks Community Center.
Beginning March 24, staff and volunteers will distribute lunches to the homeless from its mobile service van at the new Menlo Park location at 728 Willow Road from 10-11 a.m., she said.
SVdP San Mateo's Peninsula Family Resource Center, a homelessness prevention program, is in remote operation.
"The primary focus of the PFRC is to prevent the devastating effects and traumatic costs of homelessness which include physical and/or mental health issues and loss of days at jobs," she said. Make a donation of investigate volunteer opportunities at svdpsm.org.Project Open Hand, which feeds nutritious meals to sick and vulnerable residents in San Francisco and Alameda counties will continue pick-up service only, said chief executive officer Paul Hepfer said in a March 18 statement.
The nonprofit is being squeezed by the extra cost of hiring staff to replace much of its robust volunteer force who assist in food preparation and delivery. Many are either now working from home or over 60. Financial donations and new qualified volunteers are necessary. Visit openhand.org.
In Southern California, Ana Guillen, program manager for the San Pedro Region of Catholic Charities of Los Angeles, said the weight of addressing homelessness in her region is already at a breaking point.
"While our agency has helped house many homeless families and provided temporary shelter for them, there are just too many people in California for this to seem like it's making a dent," Guillen told Catholic News Service.
In response to the coronavirus spread, Guillen said her agency is providing over-the-phone consultations and communications with homeless families.
"We will do this as long we can," she said. "The concern for the state during this time is keeping homeless people stationed in one area so that they are not spreading any illnesses or catching something themselves.
"This is difficult because the numbers are large and the question arises: Where will we house these homeless people during this time?" Guillen asked.
Catholic News Service contributed.