A Mother’s Day Wish

May 13, 2025

Like many grateful moms, Teena will be celebrating Mother’s Day at home, enjoying peace and stability with her husband and lively two-year-old son. It’s a welcome change after a long period of homelessness and stress.

Leaving the bitter cold winter of Pennsylvania, she returned to her Bay Area roots hoping to start fresh. “I had two suitcases, a duffle bag, my baby and my husband—that was it,” she recalls. But starting over was a mountain just too hard to climb alone, so when a friend gave her a name to call at St. Anthony’s, she reached out.

“I don’t like to ask for help,” she says, “but I needed to make a move.”

Simmone Hudson is a program coordinator with St. Anthony’s Women and Children’s Services, and she knew instantly that Teena needed support to navigate a new chapter in her life.

Simmone connected Teena to a stabilizing respite while she worked to get her feet on the ground financially and pursued a permanent place to live. Through this pathway to stability, Teena now had access to the range of services so essential to guests struggling with homelessness, including trauma-informed case management, legal advocacy, child and family services, and employment pathways.

“Teena was committed to building a new life and she jumped at the chance to be a part of our STEPS transitional employment program,” says Simmone.

It was a hectic at the beginning. Setting up day care, a job interview—it was a lot to handle, but I was determined to keep showing up. All I needed was a start, and I took off running.

Turns out, Teena was a perfect fit for St. Anthony’s Dining Room. Her food service experience as a line cook plus working at banquets and catering led to a kitchen position where she steps up daily to help out in the massive operation that serves over 1,000 meals every day.

She says the fast and sometimes chaotic pace appeals to her now. “It took me about a week to adjust, and it can be exhausting,” she says. “But I love the work and my co-workers, so I’m staying.”

Teena loves to make delicious meals, and she has her eye on becoming a chef in the dining room. In the meantime, she enjoys cooking in her new apartment that Simmone and St. Anthony’s community partners helped her secure. Pasta and soul food are high on her list, although she may take a break from cooking and do something even more special for the holiday on Sunday.

“This Mother’s Day,” Teena says smiling, “I would like to sleep, to be honest.”

Congratulations to Teena and family and everyone at Women and Children’s Services who helped to bring a fresh start to this wonderful family just in time to celebrate a very Happy Mother’s Day.

Your support connects individuals and families to the stabilizing services that are essential and transformative. Please help us continue uplifting San Franciscans with hope, stability and renewal by donating today.