A tribute to inspiration: Remembering local activist Eric Bayer

Eric Bayer, 1975-2010

The Growing Home Garden was recently built in the Hayes Valley neighborhood of San Francisco, and it's finally time for things to start growing.  (You can hear the story behind the garden and how it's meant to serve both the homeless and residents of the area in Ali Budner's report.)

Among the fresh fruit trees, sprouting vegetables, and bonding community, there is also a plaque remembering local activist Eric Bayer.  The garden was dedicated to Eric for his inspiring work in the community to fight homelessness.  Eric died of cancer earlier this year at age 34.  His co-worker Russell Berman wrote this remembrance.

When I answered my cell phone [on January 2], the words I couldn't imagine ever hearing rang in my ear: Eric's gone. My 34-year old co-worker and friend, Eric Bayer, had been diagnosed with lung cancer three months before. He had been sick longer than that.

He'd worked with me at SF FIRST, a case management program out of SF's Department of Public Health serving the chronically homeless. Our team deals with the challenging issues of mental health and substance abuse on an everyday basis. Amid the intermittent stress of the work, Eric, intelligent and funny, was seen by everyone as a veritable life-force at the agency: he signed all his e-mails "aloha" because it invoked Hawaii, a place he associated with positivity and healing; with his charismatic smile, he would say "amazing" when you asked how he was doing; he would spend hours cooking a big, sumptuous, organic vegan dish for an impromptu Saturday food-give-away on a Tenderloin street corner.

In 17 years of social work, I have rarely, if ever, seen clients bond as deeply to a provider as they did with Eric. He was our Recovery & Community Integration Director, charged with developing social and recreational activities for our homeless clients. But he ended up surpassing his written job description. He truly possessed the skill to help people find, develop and parlay their inner core gifts into a higher quality of life.

One night Eric came up with an idea to further his mission, and it became one of his biggest legacies. It involved offering 25 clients stipend training positions in which they'd provide social services to their peers. His secret ingredient was for all 25 clients -- many of whom were labeled incapable of successful employment -- to develop and implement their own jobs. This simple philosophy represented a departure from the norm in homeless vocational services. "Sure, we could just create the positions for them, but where's the self-empowerment in that? They know what the clients need," he asserted.

That sealed the name -- POWER (Peer Outreach Workers Exemplifying Recovery). Over a period of months I spent many nights until 10:00, sometimes 11:00 p.m. with him at our office and at cafes developing this program. At one point, looking at our budget, I questioned the size of what we were planning. "It's exciting, but it's ambitious, Eric," I cautioned. With a beaming grin and sweeping arm movement, he replied, "Why can't it be exciting AND ambitious?" I smiled back; he was right. We found the funds.

We started up POWER and never looked back. Suddenly, clients with drug histories, psychiatric backgrounds, former aggressive panhandlers, thieves and hustlers who hadn't held a legitimate job in years (or ever) began developing their positions. One client became an appointment escort to help other clients get to crucial housing or medical appointments. He said he knew how to talk to anxious clients who skip going to their doctor or social worker. Similarly, another client wanted to shepherd his peers through SF FIRST's holistic foot-care clinic (which Eric created and named "the Agony of De Feet".) He knew how to talk to homeless people who trudge through the city all day, in need of the care but feeling too awkward and embarrassed to get it. Another client became a self-styled donations coordinator connecting newly housed/formerly homeless people with microwaves and mini-refrigerators he found on Craigslist -- something case workers rarely have time for.

A big part of our project was the weekly "POWER lunch" - a support meeting where the clients got guidance from us; but mostly they supported each other. The meeting's community spirit was augmented by a meal Eric prepared, not processed and impersonal but fresh and nutritious, comprised of local donations and as one participant said, "cooked with love." To top it off, within a small amount of time, a client with restaurant experience identified his position: he replaced Eric and became the POWER chef.

The project lasted 24 weeks. Week by week the clients increased their skills, work habits and self-confidence. Of the original 25, 15 finished the program, thriving on the high of self-determination. Given the issues present in this population, that’s pretty high. I can honestly say the majority of those people (even some who dropped out early), are today leading richer, and more productive and functional lives than before. Overall they are less likely to return to homelessness and more inspired to move their lives forward. We asked if POWER was part of that change; all said, “Yes!” In fact, several called it a life-changing opportunity. What is undeniable is this: all who completed POWER have since gone onto jobs, school or further training.

Although Eric's illness forced him to leave his position, some fantastic co-staff and I finished out POWER and conducted a graduation ceremony. I remember standing there, filled with pride at our clients’ success. Of course, that pride was laced with profound sadness, and still is. But I know, somewhere, he's so proud of everyone involved for carrying forward the spirit of POWER without him. I can just hear him saying, "This is a-maaaa-zing!" And that's exactly what he was.
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Submitted by good friend and colleague, Russell Berman
Vocational Services Coordinator
S.F. FIRST (Fully Integrated Recovery Services Team)
South of Market Mental Health Services