Ver Haile Senior Housing Grand Opening

San Francisco, California Wednesday, March 18, 2015 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. A brief program at 11:30 will be followed by property tours and a buffet luncheon 129 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102 Mercy Housing Affordable & Low Income Housing Services Mercy Housing and St. Anthony Foundation jointly redeveloped 121 - 129 Golden Gate Avenue, resulting in a ten-story building that includes Mercy Housing’s 90 units of affordable housing in the new Vera Haile Senior Housing (floors three through ten) and the rebuilt St. Anthony’s Dining Room, new social work center and clothing program (basement through second floors). Vera Haile Senior Housing is named after the long-time San Francisco civic leader and spokesperson on elder economic security, Vera Haile (1934 - 2014). Vera spent her career and retirement years promoting the independence and dignity of elders and empowering individuals through comprehensive, multicultural services. For example, while with North of Market Senior Services—now referred to as Curry Senior Services—Vera pioneered the development of numerous innovative neighborhood-based programs. Developed by Mercy Housing California, Vera Haile Senior Housing is targeted to very low income persons 62 years or older, and is comprised of: • Forty-three studios • Forty-six one-bedroom apartments • One two-bedroom management unit apartment Financing and Community Partners This project represents the culmination of Mercy Housing and St. Anthony’s jointly developing this mixed-use building. St. Anthony Foundation selected Mercy Housing as partner/joint developer when they embarked on the redevelopment of St. Anthony’s Dining Room. Mercy Housing’s Vera Haile Senior Housing was financed utilizing the U.S. Department of HUD’s Section 202 program for Housing the Elderly, Low Income Housing Tax Credits, Federal Home Loan Bank AHP and City of San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development funds, Citibank Community Development, National Equity Fund, California Tax Credit Allocation Committee and California Debt Limit Allocation Committee. HUD and funding from the City’s Department of Public Health allow residents to pay just 30% of their income for rent and utilities, and eighteen units to serve formerly homeless seniors. St. Anthony Foundation’s Dining Room and Social Work Center, which are separately owned, were developed by St. Anthony Foundation with financing through New Markets Tax Credits and Private Donations. Green Features The project includes storm water reclamation; energy efficient lighting and paving; efficient irrigation and drought-tolerant landscaping; solar hot water pre-heat; low VOC paints, sealants, finishes and flooring. It also is in close proximity to transit and neighborhood amenities.

Examiner: St. Anthony’s to open new, larger dining room

A new St. Anthony’s Dining Room is set to open Saturday, the 64th anniversary of when the first meal was served. The 300-seat dining room at 121 Golden Gate Ave. serves meals to the homeless and other needy individuals. The original dining room sat 220. When Father Alfred Boeddeker opened the St. Anthony's Dining Room in the Tenderloin in 1950, he wanted guests receiving assistance to feel dignified. The St. Anthony Foundation's new, larger dining room that's set to open Saturday will convey that same mission. Saturday will also mark the 64th anniversary of the first meal that was served at St. Anthony's, in the basement of a converted auto body shop at 121 Golden Gate Ave. At that same location, the new dining room, now at street level, will allow in natural light for the first time, and the basement will be used for food preparation and storage. "Father Alfred shunned anybody who claimed this was a soup kitchen. He said it's a dining room, and so you really feel that when you come into this space now," said Barry Stenger, the foundation's executive director. "People will be sitting here feeling like perhaps they deserve to be treated like other people who go out to eat." The new dining room offers two entrances -- one for seniors and disabled citizens, and the other for everyone else. There is a separate area for children and families, and enough seats to accommodate 300 guests at a time, versus 220 in the original dining room and 150 in the temporary dining room that has operated across the street for the past two years during construction. There will also be a historical wall, with photos of the old dining room and a TV showing footage of Boeddeker from the 1950s and '60s. "[We are] kind of giving people a sense that it's new, but it's still a part of that same tradition," Stenger said. "Just as they were treated with dignity and respect in the old dining room, they can expect to be treated that way here." About 40 percent of the guests are homeless. Many are seniors, disabled, veterans, mentally ill, addicts or unemployed. But when they all come together for their daily free meal at St. Anthony's -- where everybody who lines up is served -- labels don't matter. "Part of the reason we call it a dining room is so people have community around the table," Stenger said. "So if people stay there longer, that's a good thing for us. That means they're socializing and they're becoming a little more human just by eating at the table." Chico Belez -- who lives in a single-room occupancy unit on Ellis Street and has been dining at St. Anthony's since the 1980s -- chatted with her five tablemates Monday as she prepared to dig into her plate of bolognese pasta, peas and corn, and plums. "It's good food," Belez, 62, said of why she comes every day. "Thank God for these places. By the time you pay your rent that [doesn't] leave much left." The new space is part of a $22.5 million renovation of the basement, dining room and second floor of the building that will house the foundation's clothing and social work programs. In October, seniors will begin moving into Mercy Housing's 90 below-market-rate apartments above the dining room.

Vera Haile Dalenberg (1934-2014)

Vera Haile Dalenberg September 20, 1934 - July 9, 2014 Vera Haile Dalenberg of San Francisco, California, died on July 9, 2014 at Kaiser Hospital. She was surrounded by friends and family at the time of her passing. She was a native of Knoxville, Tennessee, the only child of Frank and Vera Haile. She moved to San Francisco after graduating from Antioch College in Ohio and earned her Master of Social Welfare degree from UC Berkeley. On July 3, 1973, she married Ananda Claude Dalenberg. She is survived by twin daughters Laura Dalenberg and Diane Dalenberg Schoonover. Vera was a lifelong advocate who challenged the City to do its very best for immigrants, seniors, and all low-income or underserved people. She began her long and notable career in social service at San Francisco's Department of Social Services, then went to Self-Help for the Elderly in San Francisco's Chinatown and then served as the Executive Director of North of Market Senior Services (now the Curry Senior Center), where she helped develop a number of innovative neighborhood-based programs. Retirement only brought more opportunities for leadership. She served on the Aging and Adult Services Commission, the Advisory Council to the Aging and Adult Services Department, the Mayor's Long Term Care Coordinating Council, co-chair of the San Francisco In-Home Supportive Services Task Force, founding board member of the Community Living Campaign, and has been active with the Coalition of Agencies Serving the Elders and Senior for Disability Action. She served on the Commission for Immigrant Rights since its beginning and was considered to be the Commission's oral historian and expert. Earlier this year, Mercy Housing California and the St. Anthony Foundation broke ground on the Vera Haile Elder Residence, located at 121 Golden Gate Avenue in San Francisco's Tenderloin. Named in her honor, the Residence is a new 10-story apartment community featuring 90 affordable rental apartment homes for low-income seniors. - See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/sfgate/obituary.aspx?pid=171723270#sthash.LhSmbCPI.dpuf

Hannah Albarazi, Bay City News:Vera Haile Senior Housing Opens

Vera Haile Senior Housing Opens to Serve Low-Income, Formerly Homeless Seniors Tenderloin Vera Haile Vera Haile Senior Housing complex by Bay City News | March 18, 2015 8:14 pm | in News | 0 Comments Share this: Vera Haile Senior Housing Opens to Serve Low-Income, Formerly Homeless Seniors A 90-unit apartment building constructed to house formerly homeless and low-income seniors in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood held a grand opening ceremony today. San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and Supervisor Jane Kim were among the community members who celebrated the opening of the Vera Haile Senior Housing complex today. The 10-story building located at 129 Golden Gate Ave. is comprised of 43 studios and 46 one-bedroom apartments, plus a two-bedroom unit for staff. Eighteen of the 89 units for seniors are earmarked for formerly homeless senior citizens. The housing complex is named after one of San Francisco’s leading elder advocates, Vera Haile. Haile was a staunch supporter of keeping San Francisco affordable for seniors and worked for many years in the city’s Department of Social Services. She also worked at Self-Help for the Elderly in Chinatown and later served as the executive director of North Market Senior Services, now Curry Senior Center. Following her retirement, Haile served on the Aging and Adult Services Commission, the Advisory Council to the Aging and Adult Services Department, and the mayor’s Long Term Care Coordinating Council, among many others. Haile passed away on July 9, 2014 at the age of 79. Hannah Albarazi, Bay City NewsBay

Mayor Lee & Supervisor Jane Kim grand opening of Vera Haile Senior Housing

Mayor Lee & Supervisor Jane Kim join Mercy Housing to celebrate opening of Vera Haile Senior Housing, a new 90-unit apartment building for low-income & formerly homeless seniors in Tenderloin. Date: 3/18/2015 11:30 AM Location: 129 Golden Gate Avenue

Ground Breaking Day January 24, 2013