Kitty Ha: Homeless and Clean Streets

As the Richmond District community organizer with the Safety Network Program at Richmond Area Multi-Services, Inc. (RAMS), I have been working with the Westside Neighbors to End Homelessness, to advocate for the enhancement and expansion of resources for homeless individuals, and the Community Corridors Partnership Program, to help make the district's streets more clean and safe.

The Westside Neighbors to End Homelessness is a coalition of residents from the west side of San Francisco (Richmond and Sunset districts) which advocate for and serve the growing numbers of homeless individuals in the districts.

Volunteers from the coalition make a personal connection with individuals, connect them to city services, collaborate with the Rotary Club and North Beach Citizens (homeless resource center), and consult with the Richmond Police Station's homeless outreach officers and Homeless Outreach Team (HOT) workers for additional resources.

Currently, however, the Richmond and Sunset districts have no designated HOT workers and only two assigned homeless outreach police officers. Considering that these districts constitute almost half the city's region, there is hardly adequate resources to provide enough attention to the homeless population. Thus, the Westside Neighbors is requesting for a more proportionate distribution of resources by expanding the existing resources for the west side of the city.

The coalition has made two formal requests to city officials and city departments. They are briefly summarized as:
• City Homeless Outreach Team workers for the Sunset and Richmond districts. At present, the city provides no such services to the west side (other than intermittent activities in Golden Gate Park begun last fall.)
• Funding to support a planning project to develop a public-private partnership for homeless outreach services and a resource center for the west side.

Members of the coalition, also, formally discussed these requests, goals and objectives at the Richmond Community Coalition's quarterly breakfast, with supervisors Jake McGoldrick and Ed Jew. Overall, the response has been positive, but more community support is needed. Please write to your district representatives in support of the coalition's requests and goals. A sample support letter can be found at: www.safetynetwork.org/downloads/WestsideNeighborsSampleSupportLetter-March2007.

Find out more at upcoming meetings on May 7 and June 4 (the first Monday of the month) at the Sunset Neighborhood Beacon Center, 3925 Noriega St., from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Another project that I have been working on is the Community Corridors Partnership Program with the SF Department of Public Works (DPW), to raise the standard of cleanliness in our neighborhoods.

This citywide program serves the Richmond District at the Inner Clement Street commercial corridor with services such as sidewalk sweeping and free graffiti abatement. Two full-time ambassadors have been cleaning the sidewalks on Clement Street from Arguello to 10th Avenue.

But this pilot program is only budgeted from October 2006 to June 2007.

I specifically have been promoting the free graffiti abatement aspect. Anyone who sees graffiti on public or private property along this corridor can call 28-CLEAN (or 3-1-1) to report it. The DPW will have it removed within an allotted time.Ê

However, complications arise when property owners have not signed a release form giving the City permission to abate graffiti on their property. Merchants or tenants who lease the property cannot sign this authorization form. Contacting property owners who don't reside in the area or are unresponsive to mail communications has been difficult.

Community meetings and merchant walks helped spread the word to Clement Street stakeholders about the program and its benefits. An emphasis has been made to reach merchants so they can communicate with their landlords about the program.

Merchants and neighbors slowly gained awareness and noticed the streets being cleaner with less trash. These are all positive outcomes, but research and DPW's experience indicates that an 18-month period is needed to make a long-lasting impact.

With this program only being funded for nine months, the program cannot finish what it is set out to do. Please write to your district representatives to support this program for the Clement Street commercial corridor. A sample support letter can be found at: www.safetynetwork.org/downloads/ClementStCorridorProgramSampleSupportLetter-March2007.

Should you have questions or would like to learn more about projects I am working on, contact me at kitty@safetynetwork.org or at (415) 668.5955, ext 375.