Greetings

I assume that if you have found this somewhat hidden page you have activley been exploring our website. There arises, frequently when I am out telling about the great need and the great work here at Bread and Life, to present a little background information about myself. The following is my somewhat circuitious jorney to my current position as the Executive Director of St. John's Bread and Life.

My journey in the field of human services has taken a circuitous, but consistent, path. In the beginning, while completing an undergraduate degree in philosophy, I worked in an old mill town’s community outreach center in Massachusetts. During this time, I developed a program for Vietnam veterans, which was designed to help veterans access services and achieve greater integration into the local community.

I have worked in the field of social service and community organizing for over 25 years. During this time, all of my work has been of a community-based nature. In Albany, New York, I was assistant director of a community outreach center. This center consisted of a soup kitchen, food pantry, eviction prevention help, a large youth program, and shelter. Very peripatetic in the early days, I moved to rural North Carolina to work on migrant issues. During my tenure there, I assisted in organizing a rural healthcare association, and headed a three-county grass-roots social service endeavor. Eventually, my journey brought me to my current and permanent locale of Brooklyn, NY, where I married and now have a twelve year-old daughter.

Immediately prior to arriving at St. John’s Bread and Life, I was Associate Executive Director at Brooklyn Community Housing and Services (BCHS). BCHS is an award winning multi-service housing agency serving homeless, mentally ill and substance abusers.

I recently chaired the Technology Committee for the Council on Homeless Policies and Services, a trade association for DHS Contracted shelter providers and, as such, sat on the Board of Directors. I also co-chair the Homeless Management information System (HMIS) Group of the NYC Continuum of Care Coalition, whose mission is the rollout of a federal mandated homeless management information system. I have been active in homeless issues for the past twenty years, particularly as they relate to technology’s effect on services and housing. I was involved in a project with NYS OTDA, Center for Technology and Government and Oracle, which designed a data collection system to count New York State’s homeless individuals. I also was a contributing author of the recently published Blueprint to End Homelessness.

I write, somewhat self-consciously, to give you an idea of my values and what I hope I bring to this agency. All of this is impossible without our staff. Bread and Life possesses among its staff those key ingredients necessary for a successful agency – namely, that underlying commitment to the values of the agency and an abiding respect for those whom we serve.

I ask that you re-visit this web site regularly. I will be posting new information monthly, along with a regular column to update you on what is happening here. Please feel free to email or call me with any questions, comments or suggestions. I invite you to join us as we strive to Feed Body, Mind and Spirit.

Sincerely,

Tony

Anthony Butler, MSW
Executive Director
abutler@breadandlife.org