San Francisco is experiencing its chilliest summer in four decades, leading to a dire need for clothing assistance among its unhoused population.
Organizations that provide free or low-cost clothing are struggling to meet the essential needs of individuals, especially concerning men’s clothing and coats.
At St. Anthony’s, the city’s largest free clothing program, the situation has reached a critical point as coat racks go bare, and shoe racks are emptied by the time the first customers arrive at the Golden Gate Avenue boutique.
Ian Sicurella, the assistant manager of St. Anthony’s free clothing program, expressed distress over the shortages.
“We hate to see guests leaving without what they need when it’s cold out,” Sicurella said.
He lamented, “I just don’t have enough to give them.”
The summer months typically see a dip in donations, which are more abundant during the winter season when numerous donation drives occur.
However, Sicurella believes this year is particularly bad, suspecting that economic fears may be dissuading potential donors from giving away clothing.
Meanwhile, Jackie Mocha, manager at Community Thrift in the Mission, provided a different viewpoint.
“Men tend to wear their stuff until it’s no longer something that someone else would want to wear,” Mocha noted.
She highlighted a persistent trend where men’s clothing donations consistently lag behind women’s, particularly in larger sizes.
St. Anthony’s serves its guests with designated clothing allocations, allowing individuals and families to select items once a month.
However, coats can only be chosen every four months, if available, leading to anxiety among those in need.
The situation is echoed at Salvation Army locations across the western U.S., where a decline in men’s clothing donations over the past six months has restricted their inventory.
Craig Stone, a regional sales manager, noted that the shortage limits what they can offer in stores.
During a visit to the Salvation Army’s Mission Street store, a stark contrast in clothing availability was apparent, with racks for women’s clothing vastly outnumbering those for men.
Inside the store, only light sweatshirts were available for men, with Joanne Annuzzi, the assistant manager, confirming that the stock of men’s coats is perpetually low.
She added that it is common to turn away customers seeking warm clothing for men, a situation that causes concern for the staff.
St. Anthony’s saw a significant decline of 35 percent in clothing donations during the pandemic as they reduced their hours for accepting donations.
Currently, they have not yet returned to pre-2020 levels, and the struggle continues.
The rise of online resale platforms like ThredUp and Poshmark has also complicated the situation further.
These platforms encourage users to sell unwanted clothing, meaning that many items that might have been donated are instead kept for resale.
Those items that do not meet selling standards, often torn or stained, may eventually be donated.
Sicurella emphasized the organization’s commitment to providing a dignified experience for all visitors, stating, “We want to make sure everyone has a dignified experience when they come in.”
St. Anthony’s remains open to donations from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday at 121 Golden Gate Ave., while Community Thrift accepts donations daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For individuals interested in donating, details about Salvation Army donation centers can be found online.
image source from：missionlocal
