Late Board Member Francis J. “Frank” Brennan was intimately familiar with life and poverty on the urban streets. Raised in a New York orphanage, he grew up to be a longshoreman, Merchant Marine, avid boxer, and decorated WWII veteran. He was also a hard-drinking alcoholic who spent many nights on the street himself. After hitting  rock bottom at age 27, Frank put down the bottle for good, and embarked on a journey of over 50 years of sobriety and service to others—one day at a time, one person at a time.

Frank’s deep compassion, generous spirit, and keen vision inspired him to found “The Seven Seas,” a home for alcoholics and the homeless on San Francisco’s waterfront. He also co-founded the Mission Alcoholic Center (now St. Vincent de Paul’s Ozanam Center), and helped establish the St. Vincent de Paul Society’s Riley Center for Battered Women and Their Children.
With his charismatic personality and feisty spirit, he was the heart of these programs. There, among those struggling with the dark side of life, Frank found his community. He took time to hear their individual stories and always encouraged them to believe in the goodness within them. He adopted a habit of always wearing wildflowers on his lapel, as a reminder that God’s beauty is always in our midst. Frank died on September 27, 2003, the feast day of St. Vincent de Paul.
He was the very embodiment of the St. Vincent de Paul Society’s mission to offer help and hope to the needy, one person at a time, and his life is testimony to the difference one person can make. Each year, the St. Vincent de Paul Society bestows the Frank Brennan Award to honor individuals whose personal  actions have similarly had an extraordinary impact on the needy in our city.