Cheryl Hendrickson Speaks About the Bayview Mission

This is the first in a series of interviews with people involved with the Bayview Mission in San Francisco. In this edition, Cheryl Hendrickson shares some perspective on her work with the mission after a conversation with David Cowen

"I think ... in the beginning, we just listened to mom's dreams. She was so excited and very eager to get into our grandparents house, otherwise known as Bayview Mission. I remember visiting my great grandparents there in the 80's. I was living in England when Mom moved in, and I remember being quite worried. My grandmother wanted her to install alarms and put up mechanical gates. I could not do much, so I would just listen when mom would call and give me updates.

I played a more active role when the mission first started serving food. I attended monthly board meetings and, as a teacher in Bayview, offered advice, which usually was quite cautionary.

I tend to work behind the scenes. Mom is one of those people who attracts many helpers. I never had to worry that she did not have enough help on the days she served food to the public. I enjoy being a gopher, whether it is fidgeting with the computer or listening to a sermon or proofreading a document. I spent a great deal of time organizing and gardening when I was living at Bayview mission. I love providing a space for my mom to do her ministry.

I have seen the mission grow into a community. I remember when mom was feeding 30 people. She would spend part of Monday working and she had a crew of about 5 volunteers. Pretty soon she was handing out clothes and books, and then she started feeding more people. She began taking large donations, and soon she was feeding 150 people plus. No longer was Food Pantry Monday a Monday gig. Mom could be heard filling bags the night before. Now the mission feeds well over 350 people. The mission also supplied homeless bags and children's bags. I remember when we tried out our first Halloween party about 5 years ago, it is still growing strong. Other events have become annual, the gift exchange at the Christmas party, the book bag hand out, chicken hand out at Thanksgiving, Easter baskets at Easter and Vacation Bible School, which takes place at the Mission as well as Grace Cathedral. My husband meets the kids in Bayview and takes them up to Grace Cathedral via a cab!

I realized early on that mom was creating community. I remember when the Christmas party moved from Bayview Mission to the Opera House. I was scared. The Opera house lies east of Jerrold. Many of my students lost uncles and brothers on Kirkwwod and on the corner of Palou, which is east of Jerrold. The police shared my feelings of worries and sent the sheriff to parole the party. The Bayview Christmas Party catered to all of Bayview, which is a divided neighborhood. The Opera House has paid witness to plenty of meetings where city officials have yelled and argued, cursed and walked out, even damned each other. The adjacent streets are battle grounds at times. A place where some people shop and converse, but also a place where people have been hit by "drive-by's" and where some shoot-up drugs. But on the day of the Christmas party, the community lined up and waited for Hard-Knox fired chicken and marconi and cheese, listened to the San Francisco Gay Men's Choir and were given hand wrapped gifts. The community was trusted and the community enjoyed each others company.

Hard-Knox has become a staple in the Bayview Mission diet. The volunteers go there each year to celebrate their triumphs and state what they are thankful for, even joke about what drives each other crazy about each other. The owners of Hard-Knox donate the money that has been given as an offering to the big fat buddha statue at the front of the restaurant.

I have watched the intricate workings of community, listened to a dialogue that only occurs when diverse people work together, when diverse people try to figure out how to tolerate and serve each other.

Bayview Mission is a community that will continue to grow. I hope it will be able to grow into a building. Right now, it is run out of a garage, barn and a backyard. It often leaks into the Bayview Opera House. I would love to see a school start on the property. I have worked for 4 years with students who classify as "emotionally disturbed," but actually, I would say that I have worked with kids who have seen and witnessed too much. I can honestly say that at times I can empathize with my students' sense of hopelessness. I am often overwhelmed with feelings of anger when working in communities that experience violence. I am forced to reconcile feelings of hopelessness as well as naive optimism. It scares me when my students talk of revenge and I have seen how paralyzing the role of the victim can become. I would love to provide a place for students to cope with the struggles that are apparent when violence is not only a reality but a daily worry."