Results for the December 19th Health and Vision Event at Old First Presbyterian in San Francisco

Hear stories and see pictures from our event:

Today at Old First Presbyterian Church we held another San Francisco Health and Vision Event: 45 individuals were connected to prescription eye glasses, 40 had their portraits taken by photographer Vince Donovan, 21 individuals visited nurses, 15 people got follow up appointments with social workers at Project Homeless Connect's Every Day Connect, 11 people signed up for Assurance cell phones, others learned about the upcoming changes to health insurance, received lunch, socks, chocolate and clothing.


A big thank you to all the partners and volunteers who made today's event a sucess, including:

• Old First Presbyterian Church
• Welcome
• St. Paulus Lutheran Church
• Project Homeless Connect
• SF PATH
• Vince Donovan
• SF CARES
• The Castro Lions Club

Individuals connected to prescription glasses since our project began: 123

Press Release: Holiday Event Provides Glasses for Homeless San Franciscans

Holiday Event Provides Glasses for Homeless San Franciscans

SF CARES and Project Homeless Connect (PHC) are hosting an event on December 19^th from 12-4pm at Old First Presbyterian Church (1751 Sacramento St near Van Ness) to provide prescription eye glasses and other health opportunities for low income and homeless individuals.   Additional monthly Health and Vision Events will be hosted at Lutheran congregations throughout San Francisco with the goal of giving away 1,200 pairs of prescription glasses by December of 2014. 

"Glasses make it possible for individuals to fill out job and health forms, read for pleasure and tangibly improve their lives," Pastor Megan Rohrer, of SF CARES, remarked, "We hope our event will help people build with a relationship PHC’s Every Day Connect Resource Specialists, who will follow up with participants after the event to help them continue to improve their quality of life."

“Collaborating with like minded partners in caring those who are vulnerable is the common sense means of being effective.  As for us, loving the neighbor in the best way possible is our goal,” said Pastor Daniel Solberg, of SF CARES.  “We are excited to partner with the city, local businesses and other San Franciscans to do our part to help those who are homeless and in need.”

Services expected to be provided include: eye exams and prescription glasses, portraits, free lunch, books and toiletries, flu shots for individuals with Medicare (provided by Walgreen’s), nurses for asking questions and other health related services.

"We hope this project will inspire others to do what they can to help people experiencing homelessness and hunger  in San Francisco," said Emily Cohen, Director of Programs and Project Homeless Connect.

SF CARES is a collaboration of St. Paulus Lutheran Church, The Night Ministry, Welcome and the Faithful Fools Street Ministry; all faithful organization who are working together in order to increase our ability to help the underserved in San Francisco.  We are particularly passionate about providing opportunities, resources and support for individual who are poor, homeless, formerly homeless and experiencing mental health or brain disorder issues.  

Project Homeless Connect’s mission is to connect homeless San Franciscans 
with the care they need to move forward. PHC’s Every Day Connect  works directly with those seeking services, seven days week, 365 days a year. The purpose is to connect those in need with the appropriate providers and hard-to-access resources they need to move forward toward their goals.

Contact Information:
Pastor Daniel Solberg, 415-673-8088, Solberg@saintpaulus.org
Pastor Megan Rohrer, 415-827-2587, megan@welcomeministry.org

Emily Cohen,  855-588-7968, Emily.Cohen@sfdph.org

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Update on December 19th Event

We hope to see you all Thursday, from 12-4pm at Old First Presbyterian  (1751 Sacramento near Van Ness) for our Health and Vision Event.  Here are a few updates about the activities that will be at the event.

First, our phoropters have not arrived yet, so we will not be able to have eye exams at this event.  Instead, we will be signing individuals up for an unadvertised event where they can get their exams and will have appointment slots, so they don't have to wait around all day.  Only individuals who have signed up at our event or through the special outreach of SF CARES will be able to participate in this opportunity. Exams will be available at our January event. 

We have also learned that Walgreen's will not be joining us to provide flu shots for individuals on Medicare A and B.

The following are the current list of confirmed opportunities for our event on Thursday:

• Nurses
• Photography
• Project Homeless Connect's Every Day Connect (sign up for free cell phone service)
• SF PATH (signing up for health care)
• Lunch
• Clothing
• Socks
• Books
• Signing up for prescription glasses

Press Release: For Immediate Release

Holiday Event Provides Glasses for Homeless San Franciscans

SF CARES and Project Homeless Connect (PHC) are hosting an event on December 19th from 12-4pm at Old First Presbyterian Church (1751 Sacramento St near Van Ness) to provide prescription eye glasses and other health opportunities for low income and homeless individuals. Additional monthly Health and Vision Events will be hosted at Lutheran congregations throughout San Francisco with the goal of giving away 1,200 pairs of prescription glasses by December of 2014. 

"Glasses make it possible for individuals to fill out job and health forms, read for pleasure and tangibly improve their lives," Pastor Megan Rohrer, of SF CARES, remarked, "We hope our event will help people build a relationship PHC’s Every Day Connect Resource Specialists, who will follow up with participants after the event to help them continue to improve their quality of life."

“Collaborating with like minded partners in caring for those who are vulnerable is the common sense means of being effective. As for us, loving the neighbor in the best way possible is our goal,” said Pastor Daniel Solberg, of SF CARES. “We are excited to partner with the city, local businesses and other San Franciscans to do our part to help those who are homeless and in need.”

Services expected to be provided include: eye exams and prescription glasses, portraits, free lunch, books and toiletries, flu shots for individuals with Medicare (provided by Walgreen’s), nurses for asking questions and other health related services.

"We hope this project will inspire others to do what they can to help people experiencing homelessness and hunger in San Francisco," said Emily Cohen, Director of Programs and Project Homeless Connect.

SF CARES is a collaboration of St. Paulus Lutheran Church, The Night Ministry, Welcome and the Faithful Fools Street Ministry; all faithful organization who are working together in order to increase our ability to help the underserved in San Francisco.  We are particularly passionate about providing opportunities, resources and support for individual who are poor, homeless, formerly homeless and experiencing mental health or brain disorder issues.   

Project Homeless Connect’s mission is to connect homeless San Franciscans 
with the care they need to move forward. PHC’s Every Day Connect works directly with those seeking services, seven days week, 365 days a year. The purpose is to connect those in need with the appropriate providers and hard-to-access resources they need to move forward toward their goals.

Contact Information: 
Pastor Daniel Solberg, 415-673-8088, Solberg@saintpaulus.org
Pastor Megan Rohrer, 415-827-2587, megan@welcomeministry.org
Emily Cohen, 855-588-7968, Emily.Cohen@sfdph.org

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