|
|
 NEWS
ARCHIVES } News Archives
Friendship
House Healing Center Honors San Francisco Mayor Newsom
San
Francisco, October 6, 2005 -We
were pleased and honored to receive a personal visit from esteemed
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom on October 6, 2005, when he was
welcomed with a tour of our beautiful new facility. During the
ceremony that followed, he was presented with a beautiful Navajo
pot and our Friendship House Sobriety Drum dedicated an honoring
song to him. The tour was followed by a few words in the Helen Devore Waukazoo Great Hall from Friendship House CEO Helen Waukazoo; Orlando Nakai, Clinical Director; and Tom Phillips, Traditional Counselor and Master of Ceremonies; Martin Waukazoo, CEO and program directors of the Native American Health Center; and leaders of the American Indian community. Our clients in residential treatment loved his words of encouragement to them. After he finished his short speech, he immediately went over to the clients to shake their hands and tell them how proud his is of them. Several wanted their pictures taken with him, and he was very generous with his time. This Mayor has been extremely supportive of Friendship House, dating back to the time when he was a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. At that time, he and our CEO, Helen Waukazoo, served as Join Together Fellows, a groundbreaking program of the Boston School of Public Health. The Mayor has never forgotten what he has learned about the needs of American Indians. CEO Helen Waukazoo stated "I am very much encouraged that he remains a very strong, vocal advocate for funding and services for our American Indian people. It is exciting to think that, if he continues to climb the political ladder, Friendship House and the American Indian community may have a strong advocate in Sacramento or even Washington, D.C.!"
The award by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in the amount of $400,000 per year for five (5) years, is to provide integrated culturally appropriate residential substance abuse treatment, aftercare, case management, community outreach, supportive housing, mental health services, HIV/AIDS prevention, and medical and dental services for the Native American homeless population in the San Francisco Bay Area. The purpose of the Friendship House Homeless project is to build a comprehensive, substance abuse treatment system and to increase linkages to permanent housing to agencies serving the homeless in San Francisco. Culturally relevant services will be organized under one roof to improve access for homeless Native Americans. Friendship House has reached the culmination of a ten year effort to develop the Friendship House American Indian Healing Center, an 80-bed residential substance abuse treatment and transitional living facility in the Mission District of San Francisco. At the American Indian Healing Center, Friendship House will provide the most comprehensive range of substance abuse prevention, treatment, and aftercare services that are available under one roof anywhere in the country for American Indian people. Funds Support Health Programs -New article by TIM O'LEARY / The Press-Enterprise Temecula, July 15, 2004 - A Pechanga tribal leader has persuaded a corporate foundation to donate $50,000, and possibly more later, to health programs that target urban Indians. The grant is one of the largest allocated this year by the Aetna Foundation, the philanthropic group linked to a major health care and insurance company. Representatives of the two Bay-area recipient groups gathered at the Pechanga Resort and Casino on Wednesday to receive the money and praise the efforts of Norman Pico Sr., a member of the tribe's Gaming Commission and a candidate in Saturday's election for tribal chairman. "We never would have come into contact with Aetna without Mr. Pico," said Martin Waukazoo, who is the chief executive officer of the Oakland-based Native American Health Center, which received $40,000 from the grant. The center plans to use the money for a dental program targeting many of the 80,000 Indian adults and children living in the Bay area. The program, which can also help diagnose diabetes and other diseases, mainly serves children, but it also encourages adult participation. The remaining $10,000 was given to the San Francisco-based Friendship House Association of America Inc., which provides substance abuse prevention and recovery services. "Any time we get some money, it helps a child or an adult. There are many needs," said Helen Devore Waukazoo, executive director of the association. She said many of the people served by the program's 40-bed substance abuse center are homeless. "They have no place to go. They are Indian people," she said. "It is sad to see Indian people homeless in their own land."
Helen
Waukazoo recieves Friendship
House American Indian Healing Center Groundbreaking Honoring Nancy Pelosi, Congresswoman and House Minority Leader  San
Francisco, April 14, 2003- In appreciation
for her friendship and strong support over many years, Friendship
House honors the esteemed Congresswoman and House Minority Leader,
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi with a gift of Navajo pottery on April
14, 2003. Want to Help Friendship House? You can help play an important role in the construction of the Friendship House Healing Center. While Friendship House has acquired commitments of public financing to build this important community facility, we still need additional financial support to cover unanticipated expenses, cost overruns, and other emergency needs as the building progresses. We are asking for the support of individuals like you to help make this dream come true. Your tax-deductible contribution will ensure that the construction of this facility will be built on time. Please send your check or money order to: You will receive in the mail from us additional information about this unique project, and your contribution will be acknowledged at our opening ceremonies. If you have a family member or a friend who has passed away as a result of alcohol or drug additions, you may contribute in that person's name and we will likewise acknowledge your gift in their memory. For more information about this project, call the Friendship House at 415-865-0964 |
|||||||||
San
Francisco, October 4, 2004- Mayor Gavin Newsom announced
with excitement and some fanfare a $2.0 million award to the Friendship
House Association of American Indians for their Treatment for Homeless
Project. Adding his warm congratulations to Friendship House and
to its CEO Helen Waukazoo, the Mayor noted that nearly half, or
$2.0 million, of $4.6 million awarded today in federal homeless
grants to San Francisco is targeted to help San Francisco's homeless
American Indians. 
San
Francisco, September 14, 2003- Well over
two hundred people came out to show their support of the new Friendship
House American Indian Healing Center which took place on September
13th. We celebrated this historic day with friends, family, community
members, respected elders, The Honorable Mayor Brown, Friendship
House Staff, Board of Directors, and our Executive Director, Helen
Waukazoo. Steve Darden graciously performed the Traditional Groundblessing
Ceremony. Construction is set to begin in early 2003. Once construction
begins, we invite you to watch the construction progress with us
through our website.