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. Below is a sample of volunteer opportunities and ways to become actively involved in improving the lives of these youth.

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

CONGREGATION EMANU-EL LARKIN STREET OPPORTUNITIES:

A group of volunteers from the Congregation is creating a quiet, peaceful place to study and read in G-House. If you have experience with construction, electric, painting and young adult books we WANT you!

Sunday Dinners: Join other Temple members in preparing, serving and eating dinners with the G-House residents.

Create a Workout Room: Have gently used gym equipment? Know someone who does? Please contact us to help the residents at G-House create their own gym!



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 ­ about LSYS, the mentor program, a background and general state of San Francisco's roughly 5,000 homeless youth ­ 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. <