Day 12: Going the distance!

Day 12 of National Volunteering Month, we meet Daniel and learn about his special story. Daniel Andrade first volunteered at St. Anthony’s with a group of co-workers in 2012. He returned as an individual volunteer in August of 2014 upon deciding he wanted a career change — to become a social worker. In addition to applying to schools, he applied to be a skilled volunteer with our Social Work Center. St. Anthony’s has been fortunate to have Dan volunteer two days a week at the Social Work Center’s Information Desk in the Dining Room. As an Information Desk volunteer, Dan interacts directly with Dining Room Guests during meal service, offering resource materials and referral information for services beyond food such as shelter, health care, Veteran affairs, and substance abuse recovery.

When Dan started in August 2014, St. Anthony’s was still using the temporary Dining Room at 150 Golden Gate. He says the biggest change he’s seen at the Information Desk since the new Dining Room opened at 121 Golden Gate is the much-improved quality of the experience for the guests. Due to space limitations in the temporary Dining Room, the Information Desk was located in the lobby where guests would file by as they came in to eat. “People were hungry!” Dan says, and the first priority for folks in line was to get inside the Dining Room to eat, not to stop and talk about other needs. The exit from the temporary Dining Room bypassed the lobby altogether. “Now that we’re actually inside the Dining Room, the guests come to us after they’ve eaten and are much more relaxed and interested in connecting to additional support resources. “Location! Location! Location!” he explains. Placement of services does make a difference.

“Personalism”— one of St. Anthony’s core values – is something Dan sees in action from the Information Desk. “There’s such a great diversity of people in the Dining Room, and we treat each person with dignity and respect.” Dan responds to our guests with this personalism; his calm, mellow manner and great sense of humor encourages people to feel comfortable asking for help. He feels the most satisfaction when he can help a non-native English speaker. His ability to speak some Spanish really helps facilitate “opening the door to so much more.”

Dan learns from the social workers too; they are his informal mentors. He’s especially impressed by the way the social workers empower the guests to do their part to make something happen. Dan’s been learning that if you feel you must be able to resolve each person’s needs and challenges, not only is it impossible, but “…if you try, you’ll burn out!” He is experiencing that you can encourage people to do their part and take the next step. Soon guests are working with the Dining Room and Info Desk staff to make strides toward a better quality of life. The healing partnership between our guests and social workers forwards St. Anthony’s Mission of creating a society where all persons may flourish.

If you’re interested in becoming a skilled volunteer, learn about available positions here.

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