San Francisco catering program helps mental health patients pursue culinary dreams
A catering company in San Francisco offers a second chance for patients and people who have been treated for mental illness.
After months of hard work learning all it takes to work in a restaurant kitchen, Humble Smith Francois was one of four graduating from Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital's Slice of Life Catering Program.
"I'm excited about it. I feel accomplished. I feel like I can move forward confidently having obtained everything I need to move forward successfully," Smith Francois said.
Humble moved to San Francisco from New Orleans last year.
They say they felt at the time like they just needed a change of scenery from their hometown but when they arrived here, the transition was tough.
"I was homeless. I ended up at a women's shelter here locally and getting better and finding myself in therapy," Smith Francois said.
Humble says it was during that therapy that they were introduced to the Slice of Life program.
"My passion has always been to just cook and serve and so when the opportunity arose I just could not see myself getting the proper training that I know that I need so that I can live out my dreams," Smith Francois said.
So for the past six months, Humble has been learning all they can through the paid internship program from food safety, to technique, to presentation.
"From learning the different temperatures of boiling water to learning the different internal temperatures for baking bread to just being more in-depth when it comes to my safety and keeping food handling safe," Smith Francois said.
Now Humble is officially a graduate.
Their last meal for the program cooked at Friday's graduation ceremony was a creamy seafood pasta.
"It's perfectly sauced through every noodle. The Salmon has sauce on it but it's also on the side," Smith Francois said.
With their certificate in hand, Humble says their goal now is to get a job at a restaurant or café while also attending culinary school to become a fully trained chef.
"And I'm going to take all the experience and to just be the greatest chef that I can be," Smith Francois said.
Humble said with all they've learned in this program, they feel confident that dreams will come true.
"It's possible. All I have to do is stay focused," Smith Francois said.
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CBS News
22-03-2025
- CBS News
San Francisco catering program helps mental health patients pursue culinary dreams
A catering company in San Francisco offers a second chance for patients and people who have been treated for mental illness. After months of hard work learning all it takes to work in a restaurant kitchen, Humble Smith Francois was one of four graduating from Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital's Slice of Life Catering Program. "I'm excited about it. I feel accomplished. I feel like I can move forward confidently having obtained everything I need to move forward successfully," Smith Francois said. Humble moved to San Francisco from New Orleans last year. They say they felt at the time like they just needed a change of scenery from their hometown but when they arrived here, the transition was tough. "I was homeless. I ended up at a women's shelter here locally and getting better and finding myself in therapy," Smith Francois said. Humble says it was during that therapy that they were introduced to the Slice of Life program. "My passion has always been to just cook and serve and so when the opportunity arose I just could not see myself getting the proper training that I know that I need so that I can live out my dreams," Smith Francois said. So for the past six months, Humble has been learning all they can through the paid internship program from food safety, to technique, to presentation. "From learning the different temperatures of boiling water to learning the different internal temperatures for baking bread to just being more in-depth when it comes to my safety and keeping food handling safe," Smith Francois said. Now Humble is officially a graduate. Their last meal for the program cooked at Friday's graduation ceremony was a creamy seafood pasta. "It's perfectly sauced through every noodle. The Salmon has sauce on it but it's also on the side," Smith Francois said. With their certificate in hand, Humble says their goal now is to get a job at a restaurant or café while also attending culinary school to become a fully trained chef. "And I'm going to take all the experience and to just be the greatest chef that I can be," Smith Francois said. Humble said with all they've learned in this program, they feel confident that dreams will come true. "It's possible. All I have to do is stay focused," Smith Francois said.
Axios
05-03-2025
- Axios
Low vaccination rates a warning sign for measles in Arizona
Arizona hasn't had a reported measles case so far this year, but red flags are leading some experts to worry we could see an outbreak like the one in Texas. Why it matters: Some Arizona counties have lower measles vaccination rates than in west Texas, where the outbreak has infected at least 159 people since it was first reported in early February and has killed one child. What they're saying: There are "places here where it could spin out of control, just like it has in Texas. The conditions are right here for that to happen in some parts of the state," Arizona Public Health Association executive director Will Humble told Axios. State of play: A vaccination rate above 95% is needed to prevent measles from spreading, according to the National Institutes of Health. Four Arizona counties had lower kindergarten immunization rates for the 2023-24 school year than Gaines County, Texas, the epicenter of the Texas outbreak. Gaines County's vaccination rate is 82%, which is higher than Gila (79.9), Mohave (76), Navajo (79.7) and Yavapai (75.2) counties, per the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS). Statewide, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 89.3% of kindergartners last school year had received two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, lower than the national rate of 92.7%. Zoom in: Measles is highly contagious, and "all it takes is a spark," Humble said. Outbreaks are often driven by tight-knit pockets of unvaccinated people, Megan Jehn, an epidemiologist and professor at ASU's School of Human Evolution and Social Change, told Axios. The Arizona Republic reported last year that Arizona has seen an increase in students skipping the measles vaccine under the state's "personal belief" exemption. Between the lines: The MMR vaccine is about 97% effective against measles, Jehn said. Humble emphasized you can be vaccinated and still get measles if you go somewhere where the disease is rampant. Yes, but: Even when Arizona sees measles infections, they're generally isolated cases and not part of an outbreak, said Dr. Joel Terriquez, medical director at ADHS. Arizona had five cases last year, all unrelated, he said. Most of the cases Arizona sees are "travel cases," Humble said, and there isn't a lot of traffic between here and the Lubbock, Texas area, where the outbreak is centered. Threat level: Though measles is a minor illness for most, it can pose a risk for serious complications or even death, especially for children under 5. That includes acute encephalitis, which is brain inflammation that can lead to permanent brain damage. Other potential complications include blindness, ear infections, diarrhea and pneumonia. An estimated one to three children out of 1,000 who become infected with measles will die, according to the CDC. Zoom out: Measles cases have also been reported this year in an area of New Mexico near the Texas outbreak epicenter, as well as in Alaska, California, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. The bottom line: The best way to protect yourself against measles is vaccination, the CDC says. There is no specific treatment other than managing symptoms and preventing complications.
Yahoo
25-01-2025
- Yahoo
Leland Fairbanks, Arizona physician who pioneered smoke-free policies, dies at 94
When Dr. Leland Fairbanks began his public crusade against tobacco, it was common for doctors, nurses and patients to smoke inside hospitals. Fairbanks, who died Jan. 21 at 94, was a key figure in fighting for landmark smoking bans across the state at a time when smoking indoors, even in hospitals, was a social norm. "He was a force of nature, really, on tobacco control," said Will Humble, who is executive director of the Arizona Public Health Association. "He set a good example for what you can accomplish in a life." In his later years, Fairbanks would introduce himself as "an old country doctor" when he attended public health conferences and gatherings, but that label undersold his public health achievements. In 1983, when he was an Indian Health Service physician working on the Hopi reservation, Fairbanks pushed for a smoking ban at Keams Canyon Hospital. It became the first smoke-free hospital in the United States, according to the IHS. "Back then you would often have physicians smoking right alongside their patients in the hospital. And the nurses, a lot of them smoked," said Philip Carpenter, executive director of the nonprofit Arizonans Concerned About Smoking, which announced Fairbanks' death this week. "I think he realized that, wait a minute, this is a hospital, and if there's any place that you should have clean, smoke-free air it's when you are in a rehabilitative facility." During the debate over going smoke-free at the Keams Canyon Hospital, "they predicted doctors and nurses would resign, but they didn't," Fairbanks told The Arizona Republic in a 2002 interview. When federal officials wanted to add a smoking room to the hospital, Fairbanks said if they were going to force the issue, the smoking room would have to be in the morgue. "They dropped the issue," he told The Republic. In 2002, Fairbanks helped convince voters in Tempe to pass what was then the state's strictest smoking ban. And in 2006, when he was in his 70s, he was a driving force in getting voters to pass the Smoke-Free Arizona Act, a voter initiative that has been credited with triggering a steep decline in smoking rates statewide. The Smoke-Free Arizona law, which went into effect in 2007, prohibits smoking in most enclosed public places and workplaces. "It was one of those things where the Dems would propose a Smoke-Free Arizona Act every year and it would never even get a hearing, over and over. Then the (American) Lung Association and Dr. Fairbanks, were like, 'OK, we're just going to put it on the ballot,' and they collected the signatures and defeated the challengers," Humble said. Humble recalled seeing Fairbanks standing outside that summer, when the temperature was over 100 degrees, pounding rebar into the ground with a sledgehammer to put up a Smoke-Free Arizona Act campaign sign. "He wasn't just talking the talk. He was walking the walk," Humble said. "He was a pure soul. There was nothing fake about him. He cared about people." Carpenter first met Fairbanks in 2001 after reading an article about Fairbanks' effort to pass the smoking ban in Tempe. "The next thing you know, I'm a volunteer collecting signatures. ... It did have some pretty stiff opposition from the bar owners," Carpenter said. "For it to happen in a college town was truly remarkable. I moved here in March of 1994 and I can remember going down to Mill Avenue like on a weekend and every place was just full of smoke — the bars, the restaurants." Some of Fairbanks' foes dubbed him a "tobacco terrorist" and a "Taliban health czar"; many supporters called him the "Energizer Bunny" for his drive and work ethic. He was a frequent presence at the Arizona Capitol. More recently, Fairbanks was focused on the harms of vaping, Carpenter said. "He has a hat that said, 'No Smoking, No Vaping'. He would wear that hat all the time, " Carpenter said. Fairbanks, who lived in Tempe, grew up in Minnesota and was a Peace Corps volunteer in Liberia. He served with the U.S. Public Health Corps in New Orleans, Virginia, New Mexico and Arizona. In 2002, he told The Republic he began his work against tobacco harms in the 1950s, while he was a hospital intern in New Orleans. "Merchant seamen with lung disease were struggling to breathe, but they still wanted their cigarettes," Fairbanks told The Republic. "Nurses would have to remove the oxygen and hold the cigarettes so they wouldn't drop and set the beds on fire. And the nurses would have to breathe that smoke. I decided then that I was going to be an advocate for those nurses." From 1985 to 1988, Fairbanks was a member of the U.S. Surgeon General's National Advisory Committee on Smoking and Health. He was also active in a network promoting smoke-free hospitals around the world. Fairbanks never stopped working to prevent harms from tobacco, even after he retired from physician work at age 70. "He retired from practice but he stayed active in policy ... It would have been easy to just collect your Social Security and pension and all, but he didn't. He kept pressing," Humble said. "He's a guy who didn't rest on his laurels. He almost made it to 100 by maintaining a purpose, staying active, with a reason to get up in the morning. I'm sure that's why he lived so long." Reach health care reporter Stephanie Innes at or follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @stephanieinnes. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: AZ anti-smoke fighter Leland Fairbanks was 'tobacco terrorist' to some
