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SFOSFO CONNECTCONNECTTENANT PRINT EDITION MAY 22, 2020

#SFOStrong

DANIEL SEK

Daniel Sek is a programmer with the Airport’s Infor-mation Technology & Telecommunications (ITT) de-partment. He is deployed as a Disaster Service Worker (DSW) with one of the City’s Homeless Intake Shelters.

Day1 – I Was Nervous!

Taking all the skills I learned from the training, I still had a little bit of nerves on the way to the site. I forced myself to get there a half-hour early so that

I would have time to get familiar with the environ-ment and my duties. Park the car, a smell so bad! Where does it come from? Wow!

Challenge #1 – You need to have creative thinking to communicate with janitorial staff – it needs to be focused on health and safety.

Move on to the workplace - front desk counter, all kinds of electronic devices around me – video cam-era monitor, phone, key card machine, …etc., I am in the hub of the building. Take it easy, everybody has their 1st day and my role just works closely with on-site staff, they run the shelter. Keep going to review the on-site binder to do list items and start my day from there.

Day2 – A Blessing

Sign In. Check with Department of Public Health (DPH) on guest/patient intakes and releases. Issue key card to security, check-in with the day shift to find out if there are issues from the previous shift, posted at the front desk – monitoring cameras and phone calls, log in & out of the guest tenants, deliver dinner with Catholic charities staff. It is a quiet day. For many people it might be boring, but to me it is a blessing day because I am still new to the site – not ready to take on any challenges yet.

Day3 – An Airport Chief Executive Serves The Community

Just like any other day, I signed-in to the shelter counter. Wow! My boss, Ian Law, was working the day shift to serve the homeless families. I asked him ‘ are there any issues I need to pay attention to?’. He said ‘No, but remind the Charities Support Staff, the place and hours need be more specific’. He was in no rush to leave until the actual time came. This is the perfect worker model for me to learn from – serious-ly respect your job role and be professional!

Around 10:00 p.m. A woman, non-guest ap-

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The Airport has over 50 employees who have been deployed as Disaster Service Workers (DSW) for the City of San Francisco. In addition to their dedication and service to the community in this time of crisis, many are choosing to share their experiences of working at various DSW sites throughout the City.

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Did you know that May is Mental Health Awareness Month? It’s important to recognize your emotions and feelings when facing adversity and challenges in your life. Reaching out to others for support and creating healthy routines to take care of yourself can increase your sense of well-being.

Visit SFO Connect for information and resources: https://sfoconnect.com/about/news/mental-health-awareness-month-substance-abuse

Who Knew?

In an effort to maintain social distancing, Airport Duty Manager Russ Mackey resists being hugged by Diana Tsui, an intern in Planning Design and Construction, and Maria Buyco, Airport Duty Manager.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: SFO DSW EMPLOYEES SOCIAL DISTANCE

MAY 22, 2020SFO CONNECT

Discount SpotlightGoldilocks, located in Harvey Milk Terminal 1, near Gate B18. Employees can receive a 25% introducto-ry discount in May.

For a list of open restaurants at SFO, visit https://www.flysfo.com/open-dining

For a list of open shops and services, visit https://www.flysfo.com/open-shops-and-services

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The San Francisco Department of Health (DPH) is high-lighting Mental Healt Awareness Month with a different topic each week.

Substance Use & Abuse40 million (1 in 7) Americans over the age of 12

abuse or are addicted to nicotine, alcohol and other drugs. During times of stress and uncertainty, peo-ple may have a tendency to increase their use of alcohol, nicotine and other drugs, as a way to reduce stress and cope with concern and anxiety around the Covid-19 pandemic.

To read more, and to get resources, visit SFO Con-nect: https://sfoconnect.com/about/news/mental-health-awareness-month-substance-abuse

MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH: SUBSTANCE ABUSE

MAY 22, 2020SFO CONNECT

#SFOStrong

proached the shelter on a scooter and drove it up to the elevator. The security guard did not know if she was a guest. I approached and asked her if I could help. She said her brother was here and coming down to meet her. After a few minutes wait by the elevator, I told her that people were not supposed to leave their rooms after curfew and that visitors were not allowed. She left.

Day4 – A Cake For The Shelter, a Pregnant Woman and a Mercedes SUV

Around 5:30 p.m. The person in Room 212 brought a small cake for the shelter. All of the workers were touched because she had just returned from work. We decided to give her a surprise baby shower party at the end of this month. What a wonderful day we had, her appreciation to us felt like the winter rains that water the earth.

Around 8:00 p.m. I heard a big sound from the garage driveway - video monitor shows a black Mercedes SUV pulling into the garage at high speed, knocking over security cones. Security followed the

vehicle down and got picture of the license plate. Security then informed the driver that he could not be here. The driver sped off, quickly turning around and exiting. Security stated that the driver seemed like he was possibly under the influence of an illicit substance from his limited interaction. Now I need to make a ‘non-emergency police’ call to report the incident and document this significant event.

Day5 – Serious Incident About an Intake

During the day, Catholic Charities Support Staff prepared to do an intake for a woman who just got discharged from the hospital. She showed up round 4:10 p.m.– 5 hours late for her intake appointment and drunk as heck! She started to curse the staff, including security. She was physically and verbal-ly abusive, calling us names. Called 911, six police officers came by and handled this chaos. An hour and half later, the police gave the shelter an incident report and escorted her off the property. What a hazardous day we had.

My 5 days experience as a DSW felt a lot like life in general - sometimes things are good, sometimes things are worse and leave us with bad memories. How do you make your day fresh? As a believer, I always remind myself ‘When you have eaten and satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he had given you.’

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