REP-SF Planning to the People Newsletter: Sept. 2024
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We're excited to share our REP-SF Planning to the People newsletter for September! Our monthly newsletter provides the latest news and ways to take action on behalf of grassroots communities for housing justice and equitable city planning – all in one place!
In solidarity,
The REP-SF Team
Race & Equity in all Planning Coalition
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Join Press Conference & Give Comment at Homeless Oversight Commission
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Please join our allies at the Coalition on Homelessness and partner orgs in a press conference on Thursday, September 5 at 9:00 a.m. at City Hall in Room 278 in response to the City's aggressive crackdown on unhoused San Franciscans. Demand the City establishes an effective street response to homelessness that results in housing placements!
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YES on G Community Kickoff: The Affordable Housing Opportunity Fund
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The Affordable Housing Opportunity Fund (YES on Prop G) campaign kickoff will be September 7 from 2–4pm at Mission Playground (19th St & Linda St, 36 Cunningham Pl, San Francisco). This measure will create housing subsidies for people with disabilities, seniors, and families who are extremely low-income. Without the creation of subsidy programs like this fund, extremely low-income households are unable to find housing that they can afford. Join us for speakers, merchant walks, and lit drops! We hope to see you there!
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Act Now! Demand SF Put Affordability & Equity First!
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Thank you so much to everyone who has signed and shared REP-SF's petition calling on San Francisco to put equity and affordability FIRST! Let's keep up the pressure to move forward real solutions for housing affordability, tenant protections, and community planning. Help us spread the word to keep up the momentum!
Sign Petition: bit.ly/REPSF-Equity-Petition; Share Petition: bit.ly/REPpetitionToolkit
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Opinion: San Franciscans awaken to the cruelty — and futility — of homeless sweeps – SF Standard, August 7, 2024, Christin Evans
REP-SF member featured! Powerful op-ed by Christin Evans, member of Small Business Forward and vice chair of the city's newly formed Homeless Oversight Commission. "Sweeps won’t help the majority of these people. And they certainly won’t end homelessness. All they will do is spread misery and brutality. The only way out of this cycle is the most obvious solution: providing the homeless with shelter and housing...Only those investments — and not the inhumane sweeps of homeless people and seizure of their possessions — will begin to improve the situation on our streets."
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REP-SF Members: Heroes for Housing Justice
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Q&A: How Asian Law Caucus' Housing Rights Team Keeps People In Their Homes
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"Every day, Asian Law Caucus staff meet with tenants in San Francisco. As attorneys and advocates, we see how urgently immigrant communities, communities of color, and working people need safe and affordable housing."
"Safe housing means more than just a roof over your head; it’s about being able to afford to live, stay, and grow in a community that truly feels like home. It’s about having a place that’s not just physically secure, but also culturally and linguistically appropriate."
Read the Q&A with REP-SF member ALC's Housing Rights Team to learn more about their work with San Francisco tenants, taking on corporate landlords and abrupt eviction threats, and fighting to keep our neighbors in their homes.
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Standing up for Legacy Small Businesses on Fillmore Street
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On Monday morning, August 26th, Small Business Forward member Justin Dolezal spoke with other small business owners, neighborhood coalitions, and city leaders at a press conference concerning the displacement of neighborhood businesses in the Fillmore and around the city.
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"All over San Francisco, small businesses are being threatened by speculative real estate interests. These businesses, and the hard-working people who operate them, are vital cornerstones of our communities. They feed us, they provide us with essential services, they create the sense of what it means to be part of a diverse, dynamic city like San Francisco.
What we’ve seen across the city is devastating: long-term businesses being pushed out by their landlords after paying rent for years, or in some cases decades. While their rent dollars have contributed to the maintenance of the property and their work has enriched their communities for years — they are being met by landlords who are refusing to negotiate in good faith.San Francisco needs more housing, but it must be accessible for all San Franciscans, and it cannot come at the expense of community pillars like La Med and Ten-Ichi."
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The San Francisco Chronicle quoted Small Business Forward member Christin Evans saying, "San Francisco does not provide rent control to commercial tenants, leaving many small businesses across the city — particularly those that are struggling with declining sales and rising costs in the aftermath of the pandemic — vulnerable to displacement.
We have seen landlords that are asking for double-digit and triple-digit increases in rent. They’re actually demanding rents that are unsustainable to a local, neighborhood-serving businesses. The new thing here is that it’s a venture capitalist, and VCs often have a ‘pump and dump’ mentality. And that’s not sustainable."
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Community Meeting: Upzoning on the West Side
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Mayor Breed's anticipated zoning changes will cause major harm to the entire west side of San Francisco and will likely transform our neighborhoods from something cherished to a distant memory. Join us for a community meeting co-sponsored by REP-SF members Westside Community Coalition, Richmond District Rising, West Side Tenants Association, and the REP-SF coalition to learn about upzoning on the West Side and the deep effects of urban renewal and gentrification. Register here for this IN-PERSON meeting.
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"Sa Amin | Our Place" Film Screenings in SF & San Jose
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Join us for film screenings in San Francisco and San Jose about the untold story of Filipinos in San Francisco’s South of Market (SOMA) neighborhood, "Sa Amin | Our Place," co-directed by Dyan Ruiz of People Power Media:
- Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema on Friday Sept. 6. Join us to "Meet the Filmmakers" at 7 pm, 8 pm, and 9 pm at The Owl's Nest (416 Cortland Ave)! Register here!
- AIASF Festival of the City on Monday Sept. 23 at the AIASF new headquarters on Sutter St.
- On Sept. 25, "Sa Amin" will screen at San Jose State University in collaboration with the Akbayan student group 6–8pm, exact room number TBD.
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Pursuing Progress: Screening & Panel on Racial Truth and Reconciliation
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Join REP-SF member GLIDE Center for Social Justice for a twelve-minute film and moving panel discussion about our Alabama Justice Pilgrimage! Throughout history, pilgrims have undertaken long and arduous journeys in the hope of being transformed from the inside out. GLIDE is pioneering a new kind of pilgrimage, one with the aim of racial justice and reconciliation. Join us on September 11 from 6–7:30 pm. Learn more and register here!
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San Francisco SafeHouse: Hope Center Grand Re-Opening
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Join REP-SF member San Francisco SafeHouse for the Grand Re-Opening of our drop-in center, the Hope Center in our new, larger space at 1089 Mission Street! Join us on September 12th from 11–1 pm for tours of the new space, hear from our CEO and Hope Center Program Manager, a ribbon cutting and more! Learn more and RSVP to Development@SFSafeHouse.org by September 5, 2024.
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Join GLIDE's Center for Social Justice in Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with Dolores Huerta
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Hispanic Heritage Month is a celebration of the achievements, peoples, and cultures of Hispanic people and Hispanic Americans. The month honors the contributions which Hispanic people have made to America and the to the U.S. especially. These contributions have been long standing and vital to the success of the U.S. The rich history of Hispanic peoples is also honored during this month as their heritage and stories deserve recognition and time in the spotlight.
This year we are honored to have Icon American Labor Leader and Civil Rights Activist Dolores Huerta as a featured speaker. Dolores will speak of the challenges, and achievements, of her path and the contributions and future of the Latinx/immigrant communities. Followed by a question-and-answer session lead by our Host Olga Talamante.
Learn more and register here! Thursday, September 26, 6–8pm PDT | GLIDE, 300 Ellis St. San Francisco, CA 94102
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Save Energy, Get Rewarded!
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It's warm out! For many, that means spending more time outdoors with family and friends. Californians also know that it could mean occasional power outages. To help prevent power outages, REP-SF member South of Market Community Action Network (SOMCAN) has partnered with Power Saver Rewards, a free program that gives you a credit on your electricity bill when you reduce energy use during a Flex Alert.
Register at PowerSaverRewards.org and whenever a Flex Alert is issued, cut back on your energy usage. At the end of the month, PG&E will calculate how much you saved, and you will get a credit on your bill for saving energy. We're stronger together. The more that register, the greater the impact, and the more power outages we can help prevent. Help your community and benefit today!
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Learn How to Replace Your Gas Water Heater for FREE!
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SOMCAN serves on the advisory committee of SF Environment's Climate Equity Hub, which is working to eliminate carbon emissions within residential buildings in SF.
Upgrade your home with a free heat pump water heater (HPWH)! Disadvantaged communities have historically dealt with the worst air pollution, traffic density, heat exposure, and other environmental hazards. San Francisco is transitioning from gas to electric appliances to reduce air pollution, and Climate Equity Hub is dedicated to making this transition affordable and beneficial in these communities. Our HPWH program is just the first step. We’ll secure up to $10,785 in rebate funding to fully cover the cost of the upgrade and support you each step of the way. Learn how to upgrade your water heater for FREE by going to climateequitysf.org.
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