Episode 42: GLIDE

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GLIDE’s Daily Meals Program, COVID-19 response, Walk In Center, Harm Reduction Program

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“We all know when you're hungry, you know, really nothing else matter”

In this episode our featured voices are George Gundry, the Director of the Free Meals Program and Kenneth Kim, Senior Director of Programs of GLIDE.

With all of the death and economic destruction that the Covid-19 pandemic has brought down upon our community one of the hardest-hit neighborhoods is the Tenderloin.

The Tenderloin neighborhood is still one of the few affordable neighborhoods left that new immigrant families can afford to live in which has helped the neighborhood to be one of the most diverse. The Tenderloin is home to over 3,500 kids and 30 languages. It is also one of the poorer neighborhoods with a median family income of around $31,000 which is less than half of the citywide average of $78,000. Over 30% of households have incomes less than $15,000 thus around 30% of the residents live in poverty. The Tenderloin has a history of high crime, particularly violent street crime such as robbery and aggravated assault, an un-controlled open drug market, and thousands of un-housed community members struggling to stay alive during the Pandemic.

Within the context of the Tenderloin neighborhood, our featured voices from the Glide family George Gundry, the Director of the Free Meals Program, and Kenneth Kim the Senior Director of Programs share with you the passion, understanding, and helping hand that are part of the legacy of Cecil Williams and Janice Mirikitani’s mission of “creating a radically inclusive, just and loving community mobilized to alleviate suffering and break the cycles of poverty and marginalization”

George Gundry

George Gundry is the Director of the Daily Free Meals and was in the restaurant industry 40 years before he joined GLIDE. In his time at GLIDE, he and his remarkable staff, joined by thousands of volunteers each year (pre-Covid-19), have gone out of their way to bestow on GLIDE’s Meals program guests the hospitality any guest would take for granted at the best restaurants. Meanwhile, George and team have helped GLIDE reach the milestone of 20 million meals served—a number that grows every morning, every afternoon, every evening. After enjoying a successful career, he admitted to himself that he wanted to do something different. He wanted to give back and do more for others. “GLIDE was an aligning of the stars. When I got the position, I first set out to nourish people as a whole, body and soul,” said Gundry. His team softened the colors of tablecloths, added music, and resized food trays. They formed partnerships to improve the quality and variety of the meals at GLIDE.
One hundred percent of GLIDE’s kitchen workforce comes from the local community, which creates a special bond between the staff and the population they serve. They can relate and understand, have empathy and love. Gundry is passionate about delivering to the Tenderloin community—not only quality meals but also the kindness, love and hope that everyone needs.

Kenneth Kim

Dr. Kenneth Kim is Senior Director of Programs at GLIDE Foundation, where he leads the design, implementation and evaluation of an integrated community engagement and dynamic service system for the homeless and marginalized communities living in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood. He joined GLIDE as Clinical Director in 2015. Kenneth represents GLIDE as a member of the Community Advisory Committee for TLHIP, San Francisco’s Domestic Violence Consortium, as well as other collaborations with Bay Area community-based organizations and city agencies. Kenneth is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in community mental health, foster care system, and treatment of trauma and has worked in human services for over 20 years. His volunteer, training, and work experience include but not limited to programs addressing violence prevention, severe mental illness, substance use, psychological evaluation, and crisis intervention. Kenneth is an advisor for the Korean American Community Foundation of San Francisco and board member at TNDC. Kenneth earned his doctorate in Clinical Psychology from The Wright Institute in Berkeley and bachelor’s degree in Social Work from UC Davis.

GLIDE

Fifty years of serving the most vulnerable, and hiring our staff from the community, has given GLIDE exceptional cultural competency and earned it the trust of its clients and the community. On this foundation of competency and trust, our integrated and comprehensive service model meets basic needs and supports people along pathways toward stabilization and self-sufficiency. Coupled with linkages to partnering organizations, this integrated approach delivers the most innovative and effective interventions to address poverty, homelessness, drug use disorders and family crisis.

GLIDE programs focus on the most vulnerable people in our community, including women and people of color, children, individuals with complex needs and recent immigrants. We welcome everyone, meet people where they are and support the needs of the whole person.

GLIDE is on the front-line of poverty going beyond meeting people’s immediate, basic needs to deliver lasting, sustainable change. During this time of crisis, the needs are rising. GLIDE is responding. GLIDE has developed an extensive response program to the COVID-19 pandemic to support community members. Subscribe to GLIDE’s Real Talk Newsletter to stay up to date with all of GLIDE’s services and how to get engaged

Donation/Volunteer

With rising inequality threatening the most vulnerable members of our community, GLIDE's comprehensive, integrated programs and services are more critical than ever. Your support makes a powerful difference to those individuals and families who depend on the resources they find here. You can support support GLIDE Memorial Church and also setup legacy giving, and get engaged through corporate and foundational giving

Videos

To find out more about GLIDE please check out their videos:

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“I think the heart of all of these efforts, is that there is a bit of celebration in everything that we do. And something as austere, as COVID testing, I think is going to be the key for us to really make a change and make sure that there’s equity and access for everyone, especially in the Tenderloin”

— Kenneth Kim, Senior Director of Programs, GLIDE Foundation

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