Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2000. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Bay Area Reporter - December 22, 2000
Cynthia Laird
Dolores Street Community Services, which operates a homeless shelter for working poor Latino men, the Richard M. Cohen Residence for people living with AIDS, and a community center that serves residents in the Mission and Castro neighborhoods, put out the call for help during this holiday season.
The Dolores Housing Program run by DSCS is San Francisco's only provider of emergency food and shelter services targeting Latino men. Amilcar Mayen, director of the shelter, told the Bay Area Reporter that the shelter is currently at full capacity with 120 clients. The men have jobs, but don't earn enough money to afford housing in the city's red-hot real estate market.
The shelter began in 1982 as a sanctuary for Central American refugees. Clients are provided job preparedness training and referrals for clothing, employment resources, legal services, educational opportunities, and permanent housing. The program provides its clients with a home base where they feel welcomed and part of a community. Clients may stay up to 90 days within a year, Mayen explained.
The Richard M. Cohen Residence, added DSCS Executive Director Bob Nelson, is the city's only state-licensed supportive housing facility for people with AIDS in a non-institutional setting. The residence is a 10-bed, 24-hour care facility for homeless men and women with disabling HIV or AIDS. The home is named in memory of a San Francisco resident who died of AIDS-related complications in 1991 and whose estate provided a significant portion of the funds needed to renovate the buildings.
Nelson and Mayen said that interested people can share some joy not only during the holiday season, but throughout the year as both facilities have volunteer opportunities. Specific volunteer needs include a transportation volunteer to drive a van to the food bank and Safeway one day per week in the afternoon, and a cook who can volunteer one to two days a week.
For the holidays, however, DSCS clients could use several items, including personal hygiene supplies such as towels, deodorant, disposable razors, soap, and toothpaste. The agency could also use bus tokens for its clients.
DSCS itself is in need of items for its programs, and has some listed on its "wish list" at www.dscs.org. These larger items include a camera, camcorder, small ice maker, hot/cold water dispensers, and a Pentium class PC-compatible personal computer.
Financial donations can be mailed to DSCS, 938 Valencia Street, San Francisco, CA 94110. Items being donated can also be dropped off at this location. For more information, call (415) 282-6209.
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