December 13, 1994
Amid the maze of one-way city streets that make up the Tenderloin and lower Nob Hill in San Francisco, Don Casella maneuvered his Volvo station wagon through the crush of rush hour traffic late Tuesday afternoon.
The smell of broccoli permeated the air. The back of the car had been filled with bags of groceries and hot meals from Project Open Hand's kitchen located on 17th Street in the Mission District. For nearly three years, approximately 30 SF State staff and faculty members have delivered meals every Tuesday to homebound persons with AIDS and HIV, according to Cookie O'Brien, associate director of residence life.
The volunteer program began when Project Open Hand -- a non-profit organization that provides meals and services to people with the disease -- contacted the AIDS Coordinating Committee on the SF State campus looking for volunteers, she said.
"They're such a live-wire group," Casella said of the AIDS Coordinating Committee. "They're so aware of what's going on."
Project Open Hand was founded in 1985 by Ruth Brinker, a retired Meals on Wheels manager. Brinker began preparing meals in a church basement for seven friends with AIDS.
Now, nine years later, Project Open Hand delivers 1,200 meals per week in San Francisco, according to Kevin Swanson, director of communications for Project Open Hand.
"We are considered the nation's largest volunteer agency," Swanson said.
Riding along with Casella in the station wagon are Bob Barzan, a employment specialist at the Career Center, and Bob McKechnie, assistant director of development for the development office at SF State. These three ride the same route -- designated route 39 -- one night a month to deliver meals.
The mood was lighthearted as the seasoned volunteers joked with each other in the car and caught up on news of the day.
"You should have seen us before Don had his eye operation," McKechnie said. "He would drive, but he couldn't see," he said.
"It was noticeable?" Casella joked.
"It was terrible," McKechnie said.
As the car makes its first stop on the delivery route at Polk Street, the mood shifted as the three men got down to business. After searching the list for special instructions, Barzan carried a meal over to the Leland Hotel.
Barzan walked up to the second floor and knocked on the door. No one answered, and Barzan then recalled from the instruction sheet that he should leave the meal at the reception desk.
"I haven't seen him in two days," the man at the desk said.
"That's not uncommon. We take back three to four meals every time," Barzan said. "I figure that sometimes people die and the word just doesn't get back," he said.
At the group's second stop, four meals are delivered in the same building on Leavenworth Street. The smell of cat urine and marijuana filled the hallways. All the people on the list receive their meals.
The volunteers have little contact with the people on their list. The doorways to the apartments only open up a crack, just enough to get the meal and groceries. Casella said people in this neighborhood either tend to cautious or are don't like the fact that they have to accept a handout.
Project Open Hand provides a confidential service to its clients and advises volunteers to only say they are delivering a meal if asked.
On Sutter Street, McKechnie walked briskly to his next delivery stop. "One of the nicest, cutest, healthiest guys lived over there," McKechnie said pointing to a building across the street. "He just turned into the sickest guy. This is the first time he hasn't been on the list."
At the group's last stop at the Cable Car Hotel on California Street, Barzan delivered a meal to a Latina woman on the third floor. She opened the door excusing her appearance as two white cats peered out the doorway. "Thank you," she said.
"We do live in the middle of an epidemic," Barzan said. "I've done something good for the cause and my own well being and it should be done.
"I'm just shocked that more people don't," he said.
If you are interested in volunteering, call O'Brien at 338-2722 or call Project Open Hand's volunteer hotline at 255-2529.