CONGREGATION EMANU-EL ADOPTS G-HOUSE

G-House
6324 Geary Street
San Francisco, 94121
Site Director: Ruth Nunez

This Larkin Street Youth Services site helps former foster youth and homeless youth between the ages of 18 and 24 to make successful transitions into adulthood and into living independently.

With little services and support, hundreds of emancipated foster youth and formerly homeless youth may fall victim to unemployment, incarceration, or substance abuse. G-House provides services including health care, transitional housing, access to education, employment readiness and referral, mentoring and life skills training.

Congregation Emanu-El is partnering with Larkin Street Youth Services over the next year in its adoption of G-House and its residents.

Please contact Sandy Rechtschaffen, Social Justice Coordinator, (415) 751-2541 x 177 or sandyr@emanuelsf.org to get involved.




LOOKING FOR LEAD VOLUNTEERS FOR SUNDAY DINNERS!

Each week, congregants from Temple Emanu-El, plan, cook, serve, and eat dinner for and with the G-House residents. A lead volunteer signs up for 1 Sunday each month for a minimum of 6 months. Not only is this a great mitzvot, that requires minimal time commitment, but can be a an extremely social and fun occasion to cook with fellow congregants and friends.

Responsibilities include: planning the dinner menu and emailing it to G-House staff so that the ingredients may be purchased, notifying Sandy Rechtschaffen if additional volunteers are needed and arriving at 4:30 PM.

Please contact Sandy to sign-up! sandyr@emanuelsf.org







DO A MITZVAH WITHOUT LEAVING HOME - HELP STOCK THE G-HOUSE LIBRARY

The residents of G-House, a housing facility for young adults aged 18 - 24 at Larkin Street Youth, need your help! They have a brandnew library, with fresh paint, work tables, and...empty shelves.

They have asked Emanu-El to purchase new books from their Wish List. Let's help them fill those empty shelves!

Here's what you can do:
Go to Amazon.com to Purchase books, magazines, and posters the residents, their counselors, and their career and educational advisors have asked for --everything from Spanish-English dictionaries to People Magazine.

If you have questions, please contact Sandy Rechtschaffen, Social Justice Coordinator, (415) 751-2541 x 177 or sandyr@emanuelsf.org



FIXING A LEAKY FAUCET Aaron Wasserman, 05/19/08

I had decided that there were two types of people out there. Person A, who walks into a room, sees a leaky faucet, and quickly fixes it; and Person B, who does nothing. As a "Type A", I had secretly thought that any faucet is fixable with the right information and a penchant for action. Well, it turns out that my faucet theory may be terribly appropriate for many things in my life, but not all.

I've used my faucet-fixing approach everywhere, even when thinking about volunteering. For example, for the last six months I've been helping out in the Tenderloin clubhouse of the Boys & Girls Club. I was drawn to the opportunity because I believe that if kids can stay productive and engaged after school, they are less likely to meander in the streets. I help the kids with their schoolwork, play games, help them read, and I can measure my utility to the hour! When I spoke with Sandy from the Temple's Social Action committee to find a great one-to-one mentoring program, she recommended that I look into Larkin Street Youth Services (LSYS), an organization that helps San Francisco's homeless youth move beyond street life. A perfect extension to my faucet theory, I thought.

Those who know me well know that I am not easily caught off-guard. When I first met with Liz, the LSYS Mentor Program Manager, I was not prepared. What I had hoped for was an information session Ð about LSYS, the mentor program, a background and general state of San Francisco's roughly 5,000 homeless youth Ð and a green light to get started as a mentor. Instead what I received was a proper 60-minute interview. The first question of the day, and one I won't forget for a while, went like this: "What do you think are some issues that homeless youth face?" I had my game face on: "physical displacement from a home, a need for food, clinical care, drug-use education, to name a few." Liz paused and smiled. "Anything else?"

That morning we discussed the cornucopia of mental health challenges that this youth group, ages 12-24, may face when walking into LSYS. Needless to say I had overlooked most of them. Abandonment. Confusion. Fear. Shame. I was embarrassed that I had been so short-sighted. For example, I had not considered that LSYS teenagers have often been in-and-out of many foster care programs, where "many" can mean well over a dozen. It didn't take long to realize that this type of displacement can create enormous emotional challenges for these kids. These are challenges, frankly, that I knew I'd be totally powerless to eradicate, principally because I'm not a social worker. And if that's the case, how effective could I really be as a mentor? Liz witnessed the transition in full, and in place of the mentor program suggested other LSYS volunteer events that might be interesting. Either way, I'd be required to attend an all-day training session that weekend.

Now with some perspective, I'll admit that Saturday's session got me thinking about my faucet theory. Over the course of the day, Liz explained that mentors, really any volunteers at LSYS, are neither trained nor directed to counsel anyone. I learned that above all else, these youth need more healthy contact in their lives: someone to hang out with, ask questions of, complain to, and someone to help them through the issues that a transition from street life may create. Not to mention the array of dramas that any teenager lives through! I actually felt relieved that I wasn't expected to solve a problem. I started to appreciate how unique a mentor role could be at LSYS. I was excited to learn that an effective mentor asks questions, listens, presents options, and cares to create an environment where youth can relax and have fun. I'm not a counselor but these are things I can do well. I attended an additional training session the following week dedicated to prospective mentors.

Liz started Saturday's session by sharing a powerful quote from Edith Wharton: "There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it." This quote shattered my faucet theory. I look forward to starting as an LSYS mentor in the coming months.




Please contact Sandy Rechtschaffen, Social Justice Coordinator, (415) 751-2541 x 177 or sandyr@emanuelsf.org to get involved.