History
The Saint Francis Living Room was founded in 1987 as a program of the St. Anthony Foundation, created to serve homeless and low-income senior men in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district. At the heart of its mission was a response to a pressing need: combating the deep loneliness experienced by seniors living in isolation and insecurity.
The goal then—as it is now—was to create a safe, welcoming space where seniors could connect with one another, share a meal, and find respite from the hardships of life on the street. Over the years, our doors have opened wider, but the mission remains the same: to provide community, dignity, and a sense of belonging for those who need it most.
Part I – The Beginning
(Story by Donna Cahill - left on picture)
Year 1983-1987: Three elements happened that inspired in the creation of the St Francis Living Room.
How It All Began: On her first day at the St. Anthony Foundation, staff member Donna reviewed the census data and discovered a startling reality: around 8,000 senior men were living in the Tenderloin, and approximately 75% of them lived alone. The suicide rate among this isolated population was alarmingly high.
In response to this crisis, Fr. Alfred Boeddeker founded the Adult Benevolent Association (ABA), which included an innovative outreach effort known as the Milk Program. At the time, the St. Anthony Foundation had acquired land where individuals recovering from addiction could work in a supportive environment, away from the temptations of drugs and alcohol. There, they grew crops and raised cows to produce fresh milk.
The milk was bottled at the Clover Plant, trucked into San Francisco, and hand-delivered to the residences of senior men throughout the Tenderloin. This simple act of kindness brought not only nourishment but also connection—a form of socialization without fear or judgment.
Despite these efforts, loneliness continued to weigh heavily on the older male population, and suicide remained a tragic reality. It was clear that more was needed: not just outreach, but a place—a consistent, welcoming space where seniors could gather in safety and community.
That need led to the founding of the St Francis Living Room in 1987.
A Mission Born from Listening and Love: At the St. Anthony Foundation, serving the community often came with a heavy administrative burden. Paperwork and reporting requirements for funders consumed valuable time—time that could have been spent with the very people who needed help the most. It was during a pivotal conversation with Fr. Alfred Boeddeker that a deeper realization emerged: the elderly population in the Tenderloin—often invisible, isolated, and in crisis—could not be forgotten.
This moment of clarity helped inspire the creation of the ABA, an effort to shift the focus toward serving this vulnerable group with dignity and presence.
Fr. Boeddeker shared a simple but profound truth that became a guiding principle for the work ahead:
“Love is a motion—you give love, and love comes back to you, over and over.”This belief shaped everything that followed. By truly listening to the needs of the elderly—by sitting with them, serving them, and simply being present—the staff and volunteers at the Living Room found a way to offer that love in action.
Where Justice and Love Meet: After returning from a 3½-month maternity leave, Donna walked back into an office filled with urgency and concern. The team at St. Anthony Foundation was deeply engaged in finding a meaningful response to the growing crisis of loneliness among seniors in the Tenderloin. This aging population included many former Merchant Mariners, along with widows—men and women whose lives had shifted from contribution and connection to isolation and invisibility.
There was a growing realization that serving this community required more than charity—it required a balance between justice and love.
With the support of three dedicated nuns, the Foundation opened the Madonna Residences, offering a safe and nurturing home for elderly women. But the men—many of them disconnected, living alone, and adrift in the city—still needed a space of their own.
That space became the St Francis Living Room.
Humble in its beginnings, the Living Room started in a single, simple room where older men could gather, socialize, and share a light meal. It became more than just a place—it became a refuge. A place of dignity. A place where justice and love met, and where both were lived out daily.
The Saint Francis Living Room was, and continues to be, a living expression of what we believe to be God’s Eternal Most Benevolent Love—
Aeternus Beneficentissimus Amor.
The St. Francis Living Room moved a little later to a empty store front on Turk Street as St Anthony Foundation was building new headquarters. In 2001, it was moved to a newly built location at 350 Golden Gate Avenue with the Madonna Residences. This is still here today.
In 2002, St Anthony Foundation hired Doug Barnett as the Executive Director - picture on the right
Part II: An Independent organization
(Story by Doug & Leonor Barnett, and Jonathan Lowell)
In 2005, St. Anthony made the decision to end the program. A group of the Secular Franciscans Order decided to take over the St Francis Living Room as they saw a serious need to keep this haven for seniors in the Tenderloin. The Living Room was then open to all seniors, males, and females. The organization became a separate non-profit with a 501(c)(3) status.
In 2016, the St. Francis Living Room was once more threaten to be closed due to a lack of funding. At that time, Jonathan Lowell decided to become the new Executive Director as a volunteer. The staff was reduced to 2 PT employees and volunteers became so essential to the continuation of the program.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of the Living Room and meals in a bag were handed out through a window to seniors on the street.
In 2021, the board searched for ideas on remodeling the St Francis Living Room. Funding came from different sources and construction started in 2022.
In January 2023, the board approved the hiring of Pierre Smit as the new Executive Director thanks to a generous donor. End of January, the remodeled St Francis Living Room was open to all seniors 60 y.o and over, no matter who they were. The Living Room only expects everyone to respect the special place as this is their haven for socialization in the Tenderloin, their place where justice and love still meet.
St. Francis called people back into the peace and harmony of a world into which God had created the human family and which was as fragile in Francis' day as it is in our own. Peace is a gift from God. Human actions that cooperate with God's grace promote peace in the world. This is the message we hold each day at the St. Francis Living Room.
The St Francis Living Room is a program that is very well alive thanks to a group of dedicated donors and volunteers that understood the message started by St Anthony to fight loneliness, poverty and sufferance of a senior population in the Tenderloin.
It simply is Aeternus Beneficentisimus Amor - God's Eternal Most Benevolent Love.
The St Francis Living Room is a 501(c)(3) non-profit status organization.