Episode 7: The Gubbio Project

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A transcript, lightly edited for clarity and length, follows.

Show Guest: Shannon Eizenga, Executive Director, The Gubbio Project

Voices of the Community Introduction: Welcome to voices of the community which explores critical issues facing Northern California communities. We introduce you to the voices of community thought leaders and change makers who are working on solutions that face our fellow individual community members neighborhoods cities and our region. This is George Koster your host. 

Series Introduction: This episode is part of a series of interviews we conducted through our participation in the Bay Area Video Coalition’s TV Show titled San Francisco Nonprofits Spotlight. The interviews were conducted via Zoom from April to June 2020 during the height of the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Shelter in Place requirements. The goal of the series is to shine a spotlight on the nonprofits and their staff who are struggling to deal with the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on their operations, services and sustainability. The series of interviews we conducted features voices from a cross section of organizations that make up the fabric of our community.  Each of them brings a unique perspective on how they and we are dealing with the issues facing our community during the pandemic. 

Show Guest Shannon: For us being in partnership with two faith communities that has meant that we've had to close, which has been very, very heartbreaking and hard for us, um, because the folks who suffer the most, of course, are the ones who are already, the most marginalized and, scraping by as it is. We tend to see the most chronically homeless folks in the city.

Episode Intro – Show Host George: In this episode we feature the voice of Shannon Eizenga, the Executive Director of The Gubbio Project. The Gubbio Project at St Boniface in the Tenderloin and St John's the Evangelist in the Mission districts of San Francisco provide sanctuaries for safe and sacred sleep in their pews to over 200 un-housed neighbors.  In an effort to remove all barriers to providing a safe space, there are no questions asked, no forms to sign and no one is turned away from participating in The Gubbio Project. In addition to a safe place to sleep The Gubbio Project provides support services to un-housed community members such as socks, hygiene kits, referrals to social services, blankets, foot care, Chaplains to provide nonjudgmental deep listening and massage. 

Show Host George: I'm joined remotely via zoom by Shannon Eizenga, the Executive Director of The Gubbio Project. Shannon, thank you for being here. I would love to start this morning with just having you share with the audience, why Saint Boniface Church created The Gubbio Project? 

Show Guest Shannon: Sure, absolutely. So, the Gubbio Project was founded in 2004 by father Louis Vitali, a Franciscan Priest, and big lifetime social justice activist was arrested over 400 times for different initiatives and movements. And he had been assigned to the parish in the Tenderloin, Saint Boniface church. And so, the story goes, he would go out in the mornings before opening up the gate to the church and would just be in relationship and have conversations with the people sleeping in the tents and sleeping on the streets. And through relationship, he discovered there was this big need where folks are, we're living on the streets. We're not actually getting ah any kind of quality sleep, no surprise.  The streets are not a restful place and he looked at this huge empty church and thought, well, what is, what is church? How are we living our values? How are we living our Franciscan values of honoring the, uh, the inherent worth and divinity and dignity of all life?

 And the seed of Gubbio was born then. And so, he opened up the sanctuary doors. It was a long, complicated process to get buy in from the community and parishioners, but eventually he did. And the Gubbio Project was born. A space. Where folks can come in, to the sanctuaries and get some compassionate refuge and respite and it has now become its own 501C3 nonprofits, separate from the church. And we have a separate location as well in the mission in San Francisco. 

George: I know that, the sanctuary provides support services. Can you share just a little bit about what those sanctuary services are? 

Shannon: Yeah. So, we endeavored to attend to the whole person. Folks are welcomed as they are.  There's as barrier free, access as possible. So, we tend to the psychological, spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being of our guests. Of course, if you come into this space on any given day, you will hear the sounds of deep slumber and snoring, folks are resting. We also can make connections to other social services. We give out tons of supplies, everything from toiletries to garbage bags, to razors, to socks, to sleeping bags, to tents, you name it. We give it out.   

We have spiritual care, uh, chaplains and volunteers that are on site to be a presence of love and support to our guests and you know, something that, really matters a lot for our folks living on the streets, having clean well-stocked restrooms, where folks can tend to their bodies with some dignity, Um, And, you know, we're able to do different things at the different sites. We're able to offer, food and massage aah, foot care. We have mobile health clinics that, tend to our folks as well, and work really closely with a number of different partners in both neighborhoods. 

George: So how has COVID-19 impacted, both, uh, the Gubbio Project and, the, to Saint Boniface church and hosting those services? 

Shannon: Yeah, it's impacted us and the churches pretty dramatically. As you know, churches across the state are closed. Worship services have all gone on zoom, like everything else in our lives. And unfortunately, the Gubbio Project was not considered essential, we are not a formal shelter. We are a drop-in center and a number of homeless service providers that provide a similar quality of service have either closed their services or have gone curbside.  

So, for example, the St Anthony Foundation that makes meals every day, normally in their dining hall, pre COVID have now had to shift to offering all of their meals pre-packaged to go out the door. So, the ways in which people are serving folks and providing care have had to shift dramatically. And for us being in partnership with two faith communities that has meant that we've had to close, which has been very, very heartbreaking and hard for us, um, because the folks who suffer the most, of course, are the ones who are already, the most marginalized and, scraping by as it is. We tend to see the most chronically homeless folks in the city. So, we've shifted our focus to advocacy as much as possible, really supporting our partners, other providers. Working closely with the Coalition on Homelessness, working closely with the city, advocating to get our un-housed guests, the care uh, and services that they so desperately need right now. 

George: I know that you guys are shut down for the moment. How can, people who are watching this get involved in, supporting your efforts and, or your network of partners, um, while we're, you know, all sheltering in place. 

Shannon: So, there are a number of ways to get involved and depending on folks, comfort level, obviously there are some folks who don't want to be leaving their house and shouldn't because they are a vulnerable population and I absolutely support the orders. To only be leaving your home for essential reasons. However, there are a couple of places that are looking for volunteers. I know Mother Brown's Kitchen in, um, in the Bayview is looking for help. The St. Anthony foundation, while they're not accepting volunteers. They are doing really good work here on the ground and Glide giving out food. Both will happily accept donations. 

Um, most places are going to be really grateful for financial donations right now. I think on the other side of this, we're going to be coming back to a very different fundraising climate. Um, because everybody's been hit really hard. I think the future looks really unclear. So, if you can make a financial donation to a nonprofit that is providing support right now, please do that. Uh, supporting the work of the Coalition on Homelessness and other partners that are advocating for, uh, hotels for safe sleeping sites. Another big push that I know myself and other partners are working on is trying to just get staff and volunteers into the existing isolation and quarantine hotels. 

It's been really hard to staff those sites, um, whether they are hotels that are for, vulnerable populations, or the unsheltered population, which has its own vulnerable population. Goodwill for instance, is trying to hire a cache of workers to be able to go in there. So if you are someone who's been unemployed or furloughed, and you're looking for temporary work and you're looking for a way to give back and you have the resources and capacity to do that, um, Goodwill is looking to hire folks to step in and do that work. So that's another way. 

George: Shannon, and you know, over the years that you've been doing this, what would you say has been the biggest impact, that you and your team have made on the un-housed community members? 

Shannon: Oh goodness. I think our impact, is hard to quantify. And when you ask that question, George the first thing I think of is a young woman that I met recently prior to COVID.  I was in the church early one morning, 6:00 AM, and a young woman came in with her three-month-old baby, and she was escaping a domestic violence situation. And she had nowhere else to go. And she had started to get plugged in with some other services locally, but she just needed a couple of hours of rest. That was all that she needed. So, she laid down in the Pew. She handed me her baby. I sat holding her three month old baby, while she rested in the Pew underneath these gorgeous stain glass windows, while incense is burning and people are coming in and out, um, it was a deeply moving experience for me and something that is so simple and yet so profound that we existed as a space of sanctuary and refuge and safety, where she could be welcomed and her child could be welcomed as she is. No questions asked.  

And if, if that isn't church, I don't know what it is. I think the community that has evolved out of Gubbio and the community specifically rooted in the acknowledgement and, deep belief that all life has inherent value, that we are all worthy of respect and belonging and love. And that there's incredible transformation that is possible when we. Welcome the, the fullness of someone, regardless of the choices that they've made, regardless of the circumstances that they've experienced. And I think that's part of what makes Gubbio so special.   

George: Thank you. That was a really wonderful story.  The final question is, out of this pandemic and virtual meltdown, what do you see are things that, you know, could come out of it to really help, our un-housed community and our community at large?  

Shannon: Well, there are many things. And the first thing I'll say is there are so many brilliant people at all levels of this from direct service on the ground, uh, very grassroots to city level effecting policy change. There are brilliant people doing really good work and working really, really hard around the clock on this. And this has taken us a long time to get into this crisis and COVID has exacerbated it and.  

Unfortunately, there aren't easy fixes, but I have a lot of hope in what I'm seeing, being done around getting folks into hotels and into safe spaces. I am hopeful that on the other side of this, whatever the other side of this is, um, I think we can all agree will never look the same. I am hopeful that this is the catalyst to, create more lasting change in how we are, addressing homelessness and all of the related issues that we might have some longer-term lasting solutions to this crisis. 

George: Thank you, Shannon.  I really love what you guys do.  I really think that, the whole community. is coming together and it's wonderful to see that sadly, the meltdown is provided an opportunity to put a really large spotlight on your work, but also on the situation at large Now, please stay safe out there. We'll make sure that, viewers have a, the contact information on how to get ahold of you and, uh, to make donations or to reach out. And, I hope that you and your staff are safe and healthy and, really appreciate everything that you guys do.  

Shannon: Thank you so much, George. You as well. 

Episode Outro Show Host George: That’s it for this episode of voices of the community. You have been listening to the voice of Shannon Eizenga, the Executive Director of The Gubbio Project. The Gubbio Project works with local elementary and middle schools to engage with students and teachers to visit their sites so they can learn about homelessness and participate in volunteer opportunities such as assembling toiletry kits for guests, making breakfast and helping out at events. In this time of the Covid19 pandemic, perhaps The Gubbio Project’s Guiding Principle One could be the guiding principle for us all in that:  All people, especially those who are living on the streets or have mental health or substance abuse issues, are worthy of respect, dignity, and loving kindness. The Gubbio Project is run entirely on private donations.

Series Outro: We hope that you enjoyed the insights, points of view and personal stories from the voices of change makers and their nonprofits featured in the series. To find out more and get engaged with the nonprofit and staff members, featured in this episode please go to my web site georgekoster.com and click on Voices of the Community to find links to this episode. Please consider a donation and volunteering to provide a hand up to your fellow community members.

Series Credits: I want to thank my associate producer Eric Estrada as well as the wonderful team at Bay Area Video Coalition. Go to www.bavc.org to find out more about Bay Area Video Coalition’s services. To listen to our next episode in this series and to our archived past shows which feature community voices working on solutions to critical issues facing Northern California communities, please go to georgekoster.com. While you are on our website please consider making a donation to help us provide future shows like this. Please rate us on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts and share this story with your friends. Follow us on twitter @ georgekoster and please email us at george@georgekoster.com. I'm George Koster in San Francisco and thank you for listening.

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