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The San Francisco Kroc Center’s Adult Day Program is helping adults combat loneliness through fellowship, meals and connection.
Outside The Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Center in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood, an A-frame sign poses a simple question to passersby: “Are you looking to make friends?”
“People are having a hard time making those basic connections,” said San Francisco Kroc Center Corps Officer Captain Arwyn Rodriguera.
The Kroc Center did an internal needs assessment to determine which programs to bring back as the world reopened post-pandemic.
“What we discovered was this extreme disconnect. People were desperate for connection,” Rodriguera said. “So we were like, ‘You know what? In this new era, our focus needs to be on connection and giving people an opportunity to make friendships.”
In response, the Kroc Center launched Joan & Sally’s Adult Day Program to meet a community need that continues today. According to the American Psychological Association, over six in 10 adults in the U.S. said they felt lonely, with half or more also experiencing isolation or lacking companionship.
Today, the Kroc Center opens its doors to adults ages 18 and up for Joan & Sally’s Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The program offers time for fellowship, meals and activities ranging from bingo and karaoke to crafts, fitness classes, holiday celebrations, field trips, and life skills and educational workshops.
Many of those attending the program live in public housing or single-room occupancy (SRO) units, making it essential to have a safe space to socialize.
“You can become very lonely in a subsidized apartment or an SRO,” Rodriguera said. “It’s very easy to emotionally disconnect from reality.”
Joan & Sally’s offers a space for them to step out of that isolation and connect in a safe environment.
“Here in the Tenderloin community, people go through a lot. They see a lot happening in the streets, whether it’s fights, or drugs, or homelessness,” said San Francisco Kroc Center Guest Relations Associate Richard Emmanuel. “There’s a lot of times the idea is circulating that there’s no help, but when they come to Joan & Sally’s … there’s always hope and there’s always help. If you are battling food insecurity, if you want fellowship, or if you’re looking to be part of a family, Joan & Sally’s provides that safe place where people can come.”
“People were desperate for connection…So we were like, ‘You know what? In this new era, our focus needs to be on connection and giving people an opportunity to make friendships.”
Arwyn Rodriguera
Each day begins with coffee and pastries or oatmeal, followed by an educational, spiritual or fitness component, and concludes with a shared hot meal.
“They sit around round tables in our chapel space, and the idea is to have a friendly, welcoming environment,” Rodriguera said. “We want them to have a place to be with new people to make friends or to bring their friends in a neighborhood that sometimes feels unsafe if you’re aging, medically vulnerable, or new to the country.”
That sense of connection has extended beyond the weekday program, with many attendees also participating in Sunday church services. For Emmanuel, that transition is intentional.
“I invite most of the attendees of Joan & Sally’s to come to church on Sunday,” Emmanuel said. “I’ve seen a lot of people transitioning to church. Some of them have become regular attendees and are attending more of the church programs.”
The corps takes extra steps to ensure those new to attending the church services feel at home, like they do at Joan & Sally’s.
“As a congregation, we actually have cards that say, ‘Come sit by me,’” Rodriguera said. “So how do we plug them into the larger community to combat loneliness and connection? We know the ultimate connection is Jesus, so when somebody’s ready for that … we want to make sure it’s available.”
The impact these efforts are having on Joan & Sally’s attendees is clear.
“When they’re leaving the program, they tell me, ‘I’ll see you tomorrow,’” Emmanuel said. “The smile and the thankfulness that they have toward this program or toward me and other staff members, that’s my takeaway each day.”
Susilowati Siswandi and Fanny Castellanos have both been regularly attending Joan & Sally’s for more than three years. They were in search of connection and found it through the program.
“I have fellowship, activities and lunch for free,” Siswandi said. “I’ve been able to get close to other attendees.”
And when asked what she liked most about the program, Castellanos said, “Everything. Every single thing.”
“It has made me open up to others and get closer to my brothers and sisters through Christ,” Castellanos added.
Today, for those who pass the sign asking, “Are you looking to make friends?” the answer, for many, is now yes.
“We get to love our city by meeting a direct need and meeting humans that are desperate for a relationship,” Rodriguera said. “And I get to tell them, ‘You know how I deal with my loneliness? I have this guy named Jesus, who I know when I’m scared or when I’m happy, I’m never alone.’ That, for me, is rewarding. Do you have to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior when you come into the Kroc Center? No. But are we praying for you? Absolutely.”
Do Good:
- The Salvation Army exists to meet human need wherever, whenever and however we can. See more here.
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