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Professor-Turned-Tailor Mends Clothes And Community

SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) Michael Swaine has rolled out his sewing machine into a neighborhood that's notorious as a haven for crime and drugs. He sews and hears people's life stories in what he calls his Free Mending Library.

Michael Swaine sets up his antique sewing machine once a month in San Francisco's tough Tenderloin neighborhood.

It's his open-air living room, where he stitches for strangers for free. Swaine, an art professor, sets up at Ellis Street near Leavenworth, in the Tenderloin National Forest, a community space run by the Luggage Store Gallery nonprofit.

Regulars like Gregory Tsiliacos know where to find him and when: on the 15th of every month from 11AM to 6PM.

"Michael means the world," Tsiliacos said. "He's my grandmother, my mother, my sewer. He does everything perfect."

Swaine isn't just sewing fabric. He's sowing a sense of community for those who need it most.

"Connecting with someone and sharing a moment and a conversation around the sewing machine is maybe more important," Swain explained.

Wayne West calls him a friend, one who patches physical and emotional holes.

"I've gotten clarity from him on more than one occasion," West said.

Volunteer Laurie Moyer, helping Swaine out this day, says he brings the right material.

"I've learned a great deal from Michael because, not so much the sewing, it's the gentleness to the community," she said.

And the 14-year Tenderloin tailor admits he's reaped more than he's sewn.

"Everyone here on Ellis Street has some life experience that's amazing," he said. "I've seen things that are really touching... people helping each other."

So for stitching clothes and community in the Tenderloin, this week's Jefferson Award in the Bay Area goes to Michael Swaine.

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