Dec 23, 2007

Friendship Center gives holiday to those without

By Adria Murray / Society Columnist

For some, it's the only Christmas they'll have this year.

And for the Mental Health Association of San Mateo County, its annual Friendship Center Holiday Party provides the county's many homeless and mentally ill a much needed opportunity to celebrate Christmas in the company of others.

With plates full of traditional holiday meal items - turkey and gravy, cranberry sauce, potatoes and whipped cream-topped pumpkin pie - volunteers from the Mental Health Association and its Friendship Center, the Community Service League and National Alliance on Mental Illness served lunch to more than 300 clients and attendees at the Dec. 14 holiday party and awards ceremony at the Foster City Recreation Center.

"There are lots of parties thrown by lots of organizations, but here, clients get to sit at tables and be served," said Kim Nobles, event volunteer and NAMI education coordinator. "That doesn't happen very often for many of them."

Nobles said many of the Mental Health Association's clients, fellow mental health program "consumers" as they call themselves, look forward to this event and to socializing with their peers. "Some live in very isolated conditions," Nobles said.

At the holiday party, however, attendees were hard pressed to find a moment of solitude, let alone enough room to shimmy through the banquet tables toward the dance floor.

Between lunch and the eagerly anticipated arrival of Santa and Mrs. Claus ("When is Santa Claus coming?"), the Mental Health Association recognized consumers making a difference with its Volunteer of the Year awards. Honorees were Keith Love, Ines Villalobos, Larry Howe, Chrisy Elliot, Robert Ramone, Mike Hartman, David Eisman, Nancy Neise and Wayne Darling.

In his acceptance speech, Darling, a 10-year Friendship Center volunteer, said to the crowd, "I'd be all by myself without you all. You make me feel very proud, very much loved."

Through the Friendship Center programs located at five sites in San Mateo County, consumers have the opportunity to take part in social and recreational activities ranging from life skills, budgeting and food preparation classes to seasonal trips, art projects and holiday celebrations.

Beaming from ear to ear watching attendees interact with peers and enjoy their meals was Friendship Center coordinator Angela Bruno-Castro. "This is my baby," she said of the 33rd annual holiday party.

In addition to the hundreds of Friendship Center regulars in attendance were individuals from Heart and Soul, a consumer-driven and operated drop-in center for the mentally ill. At Heart and Soul, people come to play bingo, participate in exercise programs and craft groups, and attend education classes like Writing for Recovery, in which participants journal about their experiences. "People put their story down on paper and see where they've been and how far they've come," Heart and Soul assistant director Carol Marble said.

About being with the organization since its conception three years ago, Marble said, "I live, eat and breathe Heart and Soul. I'm a workaholic," and then laughed. "People say I need a life."

Another woman who gives much of her time to mental health programs is Helen Stewart, who has spent one day each week for the past 30 years volunteering at the Friendship Center. Stewart, a recent recipient of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors and Commission on Disabilities Volunteer Award, spent the holiday party manning the dessert table and helping volunteers get servings of sweets out to the crowd.

Among the many others contributing to the party were NAMI board member Pat Way, Community Service League co-president Ann Malouf and the Friendship Center's Sue Cirillo, along with Desarie Deborja and Sandy Whitlark, who donated many of the gifts given to attendees.

Santa and Mrs. Claus finally did arrive, too, and it was razors, toiletries and socks for all.

Adria Murray's society column appears every Sunday in the Daily News. Send event information to 324 High St., Palo Alto, CA 94301 or e-mail amurray@dailynewsgroup.com.