RACS client stories
Our HDM program clients are a very big and diverse group of people - some are pretty new clients, while many are with us for years and even decades; some are content in their relative or total isolation, while others are very social personalities and cherish the moments of our annual home visits and periodic wellness checks.
Yoshiko Shelton
An elderly Japanese lady of mid nineties. Came to San Francisco as a wife of an American officer after the WWII. They both loved attending the Annual Russian Festival and came to like Russian cuisine. She was our decades long congregate programs client, having “graduated” to HDM due to her frail age. For all those years that we delivered meals to her, she was always smiling, enjoying living in her beloved home, the first house purchased with her husband when they were young.
Carl Folk
A few years ago we lost him, our very dear client of so many years. He lived a long good happy life, and died very peacefully, with his caregivers at his side. This gentleman of German descent was coming to our dining room for many years, always smiling, always enthusiastic about special holiday performances and special events we held. His reply to the question about his health, which we notice started deteriorating a little over a year ago, was “All is great”. Persuaded by his friend and by our assurance that he will continue to enjoy his beloved Russian food at home, he finally became our HDM clients. He always said he especially enjoyed our fish, which was his last meal the day before he died at the age of 93.
Allan Thomas
Allan Is one of the only two living WWII veterans amoung our clients. Al was 16 when he joined the front. Having no close family members and having lost all his life-long friends, he was so happy to find new fiends at our dining room, where he would come every single day, rain or shine, for over 10+ years until he was hospitalized and became home bound. While our daily meals provide the food (and only food) for his body, our phone wellness checks provide food for his soul, he says. He misses the company of our congregate meal program friends very much. Having been hospitalized quite frequently lately, he says he is grateful to receive calls from our HDM program manager on a regular bases, as it is his only communication with the outside world.
Stanley Marshal
This African-American gentlemen was referred to RACS more than 10 years ago for the AWD program. He matured into Senior HDM program. His two small companion dogs greet our delivery driver daily with their cheerful bark, letting their owner know his lunch is being served.
The Russian American Community Services Association of SF, Inc.
300 Anza Street San Francisco, CA 94118 Tel. (415) 387-5336 Fax (415) 387-5337A 501 c-3 nonprofit, RACS relies on donations from those who value our work.
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