In 1950, St. Anthony’s opened its doors and hearts to San Francisco. As we commemorate seven decades of service on behalf of our guests, volunteers, donors, and staff, we reaffirm our commitment to the community. St. Anthony’s is all of us, and for 70 years all of us have been inspired by hope. We invite you to explore our evolving story, and to become part of our next chapter.
In San Francisco, one in five adults lacks the resources to provide food for themselves or their families. In the Tenderloin district, that number is as high as one in two. At our Dining Room, we help to offset this lack of basic sustenance by serving nearly one million meals every year. We accept anyone who comes through our doors to eat. More than one-third of our guests rely on these meals as their only source of food each day, and many must decide between paying their rent and purchasing medicine before budgeting for food.
St. Anthony’s Free Clothing Program is San Francisco’s largest free clothing program, providing warm clothes, interview apparel or workwear, and children’s clothing to more than 10,000 families and individuals experiencing poverty or homelessness each year. The Free Clothing Program accepts more than $3,000,000 in clothing donations from individuals and corporate partners per year, and distributes approximately 36,000 pieces of new and like-new clothing for free each year.
St. Anthony’s Medical Clinic provides primary and specialty care to nearly 2,500 patients through more than 11,000 visits a year. 70% of our patients live below 100% of the Federal Poverty Level ($26,200 for a family of four in 2020), and 20% are children. Our range of primary care, preventive and ancillary services address chronic disease and support all patients in building healthy lifestyles for themselves and their families.
The Fr. Alfred Center addiction recovery program is a year-long, abstinence-based, work-structured program that empowers men who have no income or resources with the tools to overcome addiction and the support to establish productive and healthy lives. The holistic treatment offered through St. Anthony’s multiple services allows for immediate assessment and thoughtful resolution of clients’ medical, legal, vocational and educational needs, most or all of which may have been profoundly affected by the cycles of poverty and addiction.
The Tenderloin Technology Lab is the Tenderloin’s only free technology center specializing in bridging the digital divide and developing technology solutions for issues of poverty. The Tech Lab offers free access to computers, printers, and WiFi, intensive computer classes, one-on-one tutoring, job search counseling and life skills courses, all designed specifically for the learning styles of adults struggling with poverty, addiction, mental health challenges or homelessness.
St. Anthony’s Workforce Development department serves the community by finding employment opportunities and career pathways. Informed by workplace well-being practices, our program offers participants an immersive and engaging training experience featuring a virtual classroom, vocational skills development, on-site job coaching, transitional employment opportunities, and ongoing career counseling that contributes to long-term positive outcomes.
Our Client Safety Services (CSS) team maintains safety in and around our programs, handing out meal tickets, giving directions, and sometimes literally saving lives in the event of violence, overdose, accident, or medical emergency. Our CSS team members are an alternative to traditional security services because they are trusted by the community, and knowledgeable about the neighborhood and trained in first aid, CPR, and emergency response. CSS demonstrates compassion, patience, and respect every day at St. Anthony’s.
St. Anthony’s Advocacy Program centers around four main issue areas: Housing/Homelessness; Health Care; Hunger; and Work & Income. We advocate for policies and programs that address the root causes of poverty, and that will better serve the needs of people experiencing homelessness and poverty in San Francisco, and therefore the needs of the city, state, nation and world as a whole. We enlist concerned citizens to voice their support through our online and grassroots advocacy network.
Open December through March, St. Anthony’s Winter Shelter provides warm meals and a safe shelter for individuals, families, and even their companion animals. Hundreds of homeless guests sleep warm and dry in our Winter Shelter during the winter months, when inclement weather and the adverse health consequences of homelessness are most intense. Staff from our Medical Clinic and Resource/Social Work Center frequent the shelter to engage guests in ongoing services.
The Resource Center/Social Work Center engages 1,750 individuals and families each year. We understand that many issues of homelessness and poverty are interrelated, and address each obstacle with this in mind through crisis intervention, housing services, case management, and referrals. Our staff are skilled professionals who use their intimate knowledge of the social services terrain to advocate for guests’ varying needs and connect them to our own services, and to other services available in the Tenderloin and beyond.
